He Will Surpass
by psytronix
Summary: For the sake of literary pornography, this is discontinued. Sorry.
1. Chapter 1: B-but you don't follow Canon!

A/N: I didn't put nearly enough fucking effort into editing this chapter.

I'm genuinely sorry if you've read it.

Shit, I'm sorry if you're reading this now.

* * *

(The Battle for Konoha – Midnight)

Minato stood upon the frog giant Gamabunta's back, holding his son, with the Biju containment seal primed. It was only a matter of time before the Kyuubi would be sealed into Naruto, condemning him to a bitter life of a Jinchuuriki. Although Minato knew what life Naruto would lead without his parents, he could not ask another parent to relinquish their child for the safety of Konoha. It was Minato's love for his village that would lead to his untimely demise.

Or so he thought.

Minato commanded his summoned ally occupy the Nine Tails whilst he flashed through hundreds of hand seals, leaving him relying on do-or-let-everybody-die instinct. Having Gamabunta remain still as he placed Naruto on the gargantuan amphibians back, Minato finished the hand seal sequence without error, and began sealing the Kyuubi within his son.

As life and chakra siphoned from Minato, he fell to his knees on the soft of the amphibians back, and slumped next to his beautiful baby boy.

"Whatever happens, know that I love you, Naruto… I know you'll have what it takes to succeed and surpass me…"

And with that, Minato gave his infant a kiss on the forehead, before he drifted away.

'_Funny, I thought now would be around the point some death god would show up and sweep me off my feet to the underworld or something.' _He chuckled morbidly. He could see the image of the God of Death – the way he'd seen it before, flicker and disappear before his eyes.

(Konoha Hospital – Midnight)

Kushina sat rigidly in her hospital bed, physically and mentally worn out, a rogue tear escaping from her eye. Her only son had been taken from her at birth to seal the Kyuubi, and her husband had to sacrifice his life in order to do so.

Tsunade was sitting at her left consoling her, internally worrying frantically about the wellbeing of her godson and his father... But she had to be strong for Kushina. A teenage Shizune stood to the right of Kushina, monitoring her vitals and trying to hide her stress and worry as well.

Jiyuna was standing at the foot of her bed, ready to retrieve Naruto at any notice after the demon had been sealed.

Earlier that night, the Nine-Tailed Fox had escaped from its seal as Kushina gave birth, the gate between her and the demon's consciousness weakened, allowing it to wreak havoc upon Konoha and wipe out the majority of Konoha's defence force. The Uchiha volunteered themselves as back up but their numbers dwindled swiftly, leaving a small number of theirs in a catastrophe-proof bunker.

Amongst them were a pregnant Mikoto Uchiha, her wife and future clan leader Fugaku, and their 5 year old daughter Itachi. It was that night that Itachi awakened the initial stages of her Sharingan.

Kushina sensed the monstrous demonic presence flare, then suddenly vanish.

"Minato…He's done it…" She said wearily to Tsunade and Jiyuna.

"Tsunade, you need to stay here and administer aid to Kushina, she'll need all the help she can get." Jiyuna ordered, without waiting for a response, as she evaporated into murky water.

Sapped of strength, Tsunade and Shizune fought to keep whatever flicker of life Kushina had burning.

'_It's enough that his father's died and sealed a demonic beast inside of him, but I will __**not**__ let him lose his mother, too!'_ Tsunade said to herself, quelling all fear as she calmed the fiery redhead down and treated her.

(Back on the battlefield – Atop Gamabunta)

Jiyuna shed a tear for her fallen pupil, and rushed to pick up Naruto. Minato had his right hand over his son's stomach, at the exact location of the seal, keeping the newborn from crying even with all the chaos and confusion around them. Naruto lay peacefully, unaware of his surroundings, his seal alternating between glowing a brilliant blue and a wrathful red.

Jiyuna lifted the Fourth's hand only to see what she thought was Minato stirring.

'_Wait… ' _Jiyuna was visibly shocked, eyes widened, and hairs standing up on the back of her neck.

"…Minato?! Minato!" Jiyuna shouted, gaining the attention of the Boss Frog.

"The boy's still alive? I knew he was stubborn, but shouldn't the Death God have taken his soul?" To say Gamabunta was shocked would be an understatement.

"If you two don't mind, me and Naruto are trying to sleep here! I'm exhausted!" Retorted the Yondaime. He yawned, stood up, stretched and picked his baby up. He smiled weakly when he saw Naruto sucking on his thumb.

The Hokage stood before Jiyuna with a still sleeping Naruto in his arms, yawning and seemingly unaware that he was alive.

Jiyuna pinched herself on the arm at the scene before her, feeling as if as though her eyes deceived her.

"You're… You're shitting me, right? You pull off a sacrificial technique, survive, and all you have to say for yourself is you're tired?"

"Wouldn't you be?" Retorted Minato after yawning again.

Jiyuna just shook her head sighed happily before grabbing Minato's shoulder, transporting them all back to the hospital.

(Back at the Hospital – 1 AM)

Kushina's vitals had levelled to their normal and she slept lightly for the first time in what felt like a week. She was suddenly awoken upon sensing three chakra signatures suddenly.

'_Wait… three signatures?'_

Kushina opened her eyes slowly to see Minato's form, along with Jiyuna and her newborn. If she had the energy, she would have let her jaw drop to stupid depths in shock of what she had seen, but settled on staring wide eyed at her smirking, exhausted husband.

Not really knowing what to say, Minato settled upon giving her Naruto, and kissing her chastely.

…Right before his smirking face met Kushina's freakishly strong open palm, sending him flying across the room.

"Yep, deserved that one… " Minato relinquished painfully, before groggily standing up to face her again.

"That's for almost killing yourself and sacrificing our _son_, Minato!" Kushina scolded him, a newfound rage coursing through her very being.

Minato still said nothing in response. I mean, what could be said? "Yeah, so, I survived a certain death scenario? Our boy will grow up big and strong, with his two loving parents?" Instead, Minato opted to just embrace Kushina and his son in a hug, a stupid grin damn near splitting his already pained face. Kushina let a stray tear of joy fall from her eye; momentarily forgetting her anger at her clod of a wife, and focusing on her child.

"I can't believe we're actually going to be parents!" She whispered into his ear, her rage momentarily subsided. Minato let a few tears fall as he relished in his own happiness.

(Konoha – Over the course of 8 years)

To be born to the two most powerful ninja in the ninja world was no small burden to bear. As a result of this, Naruto received much training, both from his parents, and his godparents.

Although she herself wasn't proficient in performing seal techniques, Kushina gave her son the history of the techniques from the Uzumaki bloodline – as well as teaching the young boy her "home-made" forms of deadly taijutsu.

Minato taught his son many of the Namikaze family techniques, seals and methods for creating his own seals and techniques, as well as diplomacy and the history of the Elemental Nations.

Jiyuna taught Naruto chakra control and elemental manipulation whenever she came around to Konoha, as she had to maintain and monitor her spy network. Due to his age, however, the great Toad Sage was unable to derive a single element Naruto would have an affinity for.

Finally, Tsunade trained Naruto's strength from the age of 5, by means of chakra augmentation and exhausting physical conditioning. By the time Naruto was old enough to join the Academy, he was on his way to matching Tsunade's, much to everyone's surprise. The Slug Sage would later on also take Naruto and his friend Sakura Haruno under her wing for medical tutelage.

During their diplomatic studies, Minato would often bring along Naruto to meet with the clans and their leaders, and to befriend their children. Naruto had made good friends with all of them, especially Hiashi &amp; Hinako Hyuuga's daughter, Hinata. He also made great friends, and later rivals with the second daughter of the Mikoto &amp; Fugaku Uchiha, Satsuki.

Naruto, being the sociable soul he was, would often drag all of his best friends together frequently for games, and later on in their years, friendly sparring, which then turned into training. Even though Hinata was a little shy at first, Naruto's hereditary charm quickly strengthened her confidence, along with Satsuki &amp; Sakura's reinforcement.

Though Hinata's image of a shy maiden would never fade over their years together, just as Sakura would always have a short temper and caring smile, and just as Satsuki would always have her prideful aura.

The blonde ball of energy thought back to when he first met his friends...

(Hyuuga Compound – some years after the Kyuubi's attack)

"They look so cute together!" Minato cried girlishly as the toddlers Naruto and Hinata awkwardly frolicked in the expansive Hyuuga gardens. Hiashi gave a small chuckle and shook her head as she too, watched on.

Silently, the Hyuuga clan representative mumbled something to herself about "keikaku".*

"Hinata – will you be my best friend?" Naruto asked the shy girl energetically, smiling at her as she mumbled something quiet.

"Th-th-that sounds nice, N-Naruto…" She answered meekly, with a blush adorning her pale cheeks. She remarked at his and his father's attire.

There she and her mothers were, adorned in the finest silk kimonos one could buy - and in come these two jovial, jubilant blondes wearing summer/combat gear.

It ended up breathing a nice bit of life into the day of the Hyuuga at the compound, and it certainly made everyone's day better to hear the joyful cries of laughter coming from the two children.

And so they played together as Minato and Hiashi began their discussion of the Hyuuga Elders and what to do with the Branch House...

"Come on, Hinata! I bet if we climb this tree we'll be able to see all of Konoha!" Naruto yelled as Hinata gingerly climbed up behind him, not wanting to dirty or tear her clothing. It was then Naruto noticed a shy, slightly older child standing in a dark part of the garden, watching on.

"Hey, join us! We're climbing a tree!" He implored the young Nejiko Hyuuga, who was floored by the sudden offer of inclusion. She remained impassive, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, yeah. I can see that." Nejiko stated blandly. She felt a gentle, yet firm hand land on her shoulder. It was her mother, Hizashi's.

"Come now, Nejiko. Enjoy yourself." She smiled at her child, who apprehensively walked up to the tall tree and made a small climb upwards.

Through their years together, Naruto learnt from the Hyuuga children an incident that occurred when they were very little. Kumogakure, in an attempt to steal the Hyuuga bloodline for their own use, attempted to capture Hinata.

Kumo had sent their best ninja on this mission, and only one returned home. The ninja from the Land of Lightning were quickly executed, save for one who barely escaped with her life. She reported back to the Raikage, A, and in turn, she requested one of the Hyuuga bodies as payment.

Needless to say, after a quick, friendly, and neutral "discussion" between A &amp; Minato, the pursuit for the bloodline was dropped, and the sacrifice the Hyuuga would have had to make was nullified.

Some months later, however, insurgents from Kumo sneaked into the compound in an attempt to poison Hinata's mother, Hinako. The assailant's attempt was foiled by the hands of Tsunade, who removed the poison from Hinako's system, and traced it's components back to the lands of Lightning.

The assailant was later caught, and another friendly "discussion" was had between the Minato and A.

The supposed "rogue" ninja was then never seen again.

(Uchiha Compound – some years after the Kyuubi's attack)

Minato had brought Naruto with him to visit the remaining Uchiha within their compound. It was one of their first "diplomatic missions" together. Minato had come to talk to Fugaku about the future of the Uchiha and where they would stand in a still rebuilding Konoha. Naruto stood by his fathers's side, until he saw a girl with odd looking black hair looking downtrodden, playing by herself.

"Dad, can I go play with her?" Naruto ushered Minato.

"I don't know son, you'd have to ask her mother first." Minato motioned towards Fugaku.

"Madam Fugaku, can I play with her?" The young Naruto questioned the acting head of the Uchiha clan.

Fugaku smiled warmly at Naruto's mannerisms. "Of course, she's been looking for a new friend ever since Itachi joined the Academy. Now the poor girl is always either too tired from training or too entrenched studying to play with her."

And with that, Naruto nodded and walked over to Satsuki, who was balancing on one of the edges of a raised garden, in the bare courtyard of a Uchiha household.

"Whatcha doin'?" Naruto asked gingerly, with a curious smirk across his whiskered face.

"Nothin'." came Satsuki's half-hearted reply.

"Do you wanna play?" Satsuki perked up and almost lost her balance at this question.

Naruto jumped up at the edge of a raised garden wall, his heels overhanging the aged walls surface.

"Do you know how to play ninja?" Satsuki countered.

"Yeah, me and my mom play it all the time, but she pretends to lose a lot… Do you wanna play it?"

Satsuki caught Naruto's grin, and jumped down.

"Sure, I'll be the missing ninja, and you'll be the hunter!" And with that, she ran off towards the interior of the compound, with a still-smirking Naruto in swift pursuit.

Fugaku paused in mid-sentence as she watched the two children frolic in the near-empty area, jumping on roofs and leaping from ridiculous heights as if it was nothing. She, with Minato, cast a loving smile to the two friends.

"They might make a cute couple someday…" Fugaku chuckled with Minato as they went back to their business.

(The Haruno House – some years after the Kyuubi's attack)

"So that's what I'm proposing. I came to you two because little Sakura will be attending the academy soon." Minato said as the pink-haired child showed her new friend around their house, showing off her toys and playing some simple games that kept them busy.

Kizashi held Mebuki's hand tightly as they contemplated the idea.

What Minato proposed was an update to Konoha's schooling system, which would adapt to make the students attend until they were 18, as opposed to the previous range of 10-12. This would include even the prodigies of the Academy.

"…You have our support for the vote. It'd prepare the students a lot more for the more medically-inclined roles, too…" Kizashi mentioned thoughtfully, her concerns both erased and exacerbated for her child.

She looked over to them with a smile, however, after noticing the sheer joy the two displayed in playing their games.

"What's the worst that could happen, right?" Mebuki laughed, as she poured herself some more tea, secretly fretting about her daughter's enthusiasm in joining the academy.

(Konoha Shinobi Academy – 1 year later)

A six year old Naruto leisurely made his way to the famed Shinobi Academy, wearing a simple getup suitable for training and combat. On his right shoulder was the famous Uzumaki swirl, and on his left was a symbol significant to his father, that Naruto himself hadn't yet learned the meaning of.

Upon walking in, Naruto saw the hustle and bustle of about 8 others – he was neither late nor early. He recognised some clan children there – which consisted of Chouji, a tired Shino, Kira and Ino, amongst some other, clan-less shinobi.

He caught eye of Hinata and Sakura sitting up the back and smiled at them, as he made his way to take the seat next to Hinata. She saw the warm smile and gave another back to him, the slightest blush gracing her face.

"Hey Hinata! Hey Sakura!" Naruto greeted with his big grin, baring his canines in happiness to see his good friends.

"Hello Naruto." Hinata greeted back with her own smile, blushing a little as she always would.

"Hey Dummy." Sakura teased in a friendly manner.

"Satsuki here yet?" Naruto asked. He didn't notice their eyes shift slightly.

"No, we haven't seen her this morning…" A look of concern spread across Hinata's face.

"I'm sure she'll be here soon, she wouldn't want to miss her first day!" Naruto said as he put a hand on her shoulder.

Satsuki arrived a few minutes later, taking a seat next to Naruto with a tiny smirk on her face. The four of them conversed about their mornings until their teacher silenced the classroom. She was a chunin dressed in simple ninja attire – black pants, long-sleeved shirt and a green flak vest.

"Alright, alright, settle down!" The spiky haired instructor shouted.

After the roll was called, Iruka told the class what they would be learning about during their attendance, and how they'd be sorted into teams when they turned 16, but would still be educated by the academy for one extra year after that, as an aide for speciality courses and classes before they truly became shinobi.

Despite the surge of boredom that would now doubt overtake the class, each student listened closely.

(2 hours later)

Iruka had finished the students' introduction and set them off to lunch. A small gathering of genin garnered under a shady tree and followed Chouji &amp; Shikamaru's examples by laying about and eating their lunches in the peacefulness of the nature around them.

"You guys excited for this class? I can't wait to become a genin!" Sakura asked enthusiastically, hoping to one day become a great medic, like Tsunade.

"You'd better believe it!" Answered Naruto, dreaming one day of being the Hokage and protecting all of those he loved.

"O-of course." Hinata answered quietly, hoping to be the strongest leader of her clan yet.

"Mm-hmm." Satsuki hummed as her thoughts went to her running Konoha and seeing it as the strongest in the Elemental Nations.

Sakura opened her mouth to speak again, but was cut off by the resounding ring of the bell, signifying the end of lunch. The future genin briskly shuffled their way back into class, at Iruka's beckoning.

That was, until the Jinchuuriki collapsed to his knees, a devastating, sudden ache pulsing in his head. Grasping his head in an effort to comfort himself, Naruto let a deep howl of pain. Satsuki could see an eerie red glow emanate from Naruto's belly, where she saw a circular outline of… _something_.

"Naruto! What's happening!?" Hinata rushed to his side and placed a hand on his back. Iruka, at the notice of Naruto's great pain, yelled out for an emergency medical team. Sakura rushed to Naruto side, like Hinata had. Satsuki stared on at the scene with an expression of deep shock and horror at seeing the pain her best friend was in.

"**Mind**… **splitting**… **contact**… help… me!" Naruto barely managed to choke out. He collapsed onto the ground, his consciousness gradually slipping away. Hinata quickly put his head into her lap, and Iruka ordered Mizuki to usher the rest of the students back to their classroom.

Narutos last sight was the shaken pale faces of his friends looking down at him, tears forming in their eyes from shock.

"…" He could do or say nothing as he slipped into unconsciousness. As he fell, Minato had flashed onto the scene, with Naruto's seal flashing a blue before it went back to a wrathful red.

(…)

After what seemed like hours later, Naruto found himself inside a sewer of some sort, in front of a gargantuan central chamber. Darkness shrouded its entirety, save for a low red glow behind what looked like a massive set of prison bars. These bars had the symbol for "seal" written upon them.

"Hello?" Narutos voice echoed back to him. His head didn't hurt as bad anymore.

A low rumble came from the "prison". The kind of rumble that shook a person to their absolute core. It reverberated against the shallow, endless pool of water and seemed to echo on forever.

Naruto walked to the bars. A sense of dark, primeval power emanated from behind them.

"Hey! Anyone in there?" He yelled. The rumbling intensified, and the red glow brightened to an almost blinding level, revealing the form of a giant, nine tailed fox. Naruto could've taken one correct and wild guess to what the hell this beast was, having heard the old war stories his parents used to tell him.

The fox opened its massive red eyes and studied Naruto, looking him up and down, as if to silently evaluate and judge the boy from a single glance. Naruto stood completely motionless, maintaining stoic eye contact with the legendary creature.

After a brief few seconds of nothing but the foxes silent breathing and odd looks, it scoffed at the blonde.

"**Of all the heroes and legends, of all the skilled ninety-nine-thousand-nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine kunoichi in the land, I get stuck with the odd, single shinobi. And a terrible one, at that."** The fox stated, clearly unimpressed with the boy. It reclined itself into a lounging position and went to sleep.

Naruto got offended at this, and for a moment, forgot he was talking to one of the legendary Tailed Beasts.

"Hey, what are you saying?" He asked the furry titan in an offended matter, who lazily opened one eye to look at the boy, hoping to freeze him in fear again.

"**I pulled you into your subconscious so I could get a better look at you. I'd wager you wouldn't even be able to utilise Chakra Chains efficiently yet. Is this correct?" **The fox asked him, seeing the clear relation of Naruto to Kushina. Naruto just stumbled back.

"That's my mom's technique! And… No, but I'm only six! Mom and Dad have been training me since I could walk!" Naruto tried his best to justify his shortcomings to the fox, who still scoffed at the boy.

"**You pale in comparison to your parents. You pale in comparison to most kunoichi. Kushina was able to conjure and control those chains when she was only five. "** The fox stated, giving a deep, hollow chuckle. Naruto could clearly hear the fox's lack of emotion within the laugh, but decided to reign in his own.

"Look – why do you care? In fact, why the hell are you here in the first place? What would the Nine-Tailed Fox be doing in _my_ dream, anyways?" He asked it. The fox visibly sighed, and its shoulders slumped.

"**Minato, if put into this same situation you're currently in, would've figured this out immediately, child. I care because we're bound by seal. I'm here because, thanks to your father, I've been contained to a seal which has used you as its storage."** The fox explained slowly, mocking the boy and using simplified terms.

Naruto kept his anger in check, and thought on the information he was given.

"So what, dad musta' sealed you in me when I was being born… You knew both of my parents… Because you were sealed into one of them! It must've been mom, because her seal would've weakened at childbirth, causing your escape, requiring you to be re-sealed… into me!" Naruto said, piecing the info together.

"**And the last horse finally crosses the finish line. Although I guess I'm being too harsh with you, yes? After all, Mito Uzumaki, who sealed me into Kushina was a grandmasters at the art. Her seal was perfect, and only breakable due to her superhuman amount of stress. You, however, had the seal written by a master, at best."** The fox began, ruminating with a distant look in its eyes – deep in thought of the subject.

"So, what, dad wasn't able to make the seal perfect?" Naruto asked. The fox looked at him, with less judging eyes.

"**No. He was in the midst of a great battle, and had to improvise the seal on the spot. He is a cunning shinobi – I'm willing to admit that much – but it seems the seal he put you had some detriment to your chakra control."** The Kyuubi explained.

"Is that why you're ripping into me? Just because I can't control my chakra properly? There's a lot of it there, you know!" Naruto justified, stopping when the fox held up a massive paw.

"**The seals design allows for you to utilise my chakra at your whim. The actual writ is convoluted, which would've caused your lack of control in certain techniques, alongside some other things…"** The beast went into thought again, before shaking its head.

"**However, I digress. I am Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox. You are my Jinchuuriki. I brought you here to assess you, and I am not impressed. I will bring you back into this place in a month's time. After this, I want you to see Minato, and ask him to repair your seal. Keep up your training, and I will re-evaluate you."** The fox stated, before closing its eyes.

"**Farewell, Naruto. We shall meet again, and when we do, I hope to not be as disappointed."** It said, before sending the boy away.

Naruto later awoke to the smell of disinfectant and to the sight of bleached white walls.

(Konoha General Hospital)

Naruto groggily opened his eyes, and saw out the corner of them a watchful figure. As soon as he began to focus on it, however, it disappeared, and he immediately fell back to sleep.

An unseen force had pinched a group of nerves on his neck.

"What the fuffufufuu…" He mumbled to himself before falling to rest again. The figure sighed and disappeared at hearing some footsteps approach Naruto's door.

(Some time later)

A massive pain still rang through his head, but was much less intense than when Kurama contacted him. He groaned softly as his eyes adjusted to the light of the room, and his breathing hitched momentarily.

"Naruto!" Kushina hugged Naruto when she saw his eyes open.

"Hey mom… Where's-" Kushina motioned to Naruto's left, where he saw Minato holding his left hand, snoring loudly.

"Oh… How long was I out?" The tired blonde questioned.

"3 days, Naruto. What happened?" Minato began to stir.

"Both you and dad need to be awake to hear this." Naruto said seriously.

And with a nudge, Minato was swiftly awoken.

And the events were relayed back to both of them.

"Why did you guys hide this from me?" Naruto asked pleadingly.

"At this point, we thought you didn't need to know." Answered Minato.

"That I had a _demon _inside me? I think that's something I should've known _some _time before this."

"How do you tell your child you put a demon inside them when they were a baby?" Minato asked back. He had reasons for hiding the fact he couldn't mention, but Naruto didn't need to know them at this point.

Naruto sighed and nodded to his dad, agreeing with his logic.

'_Still, though.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

The three kept talking until they were visited by Hinata, Satsuki, and Sakura, all worried tremendously for their friend. Naruto assured them that it was just a killer migraine, and that they had nothing to worry about. His cheeky grin settled them a little.

"So when will you be cleared to leave, Naruto?" asked Satsuki, eager to catch up on some training and to beat Naruto in a friendly spar.

"That's a good question, Dad?" Naruto motioned towards Minato.

"If that headache of yours is gone, we can leave whenever you feel ready. I'll just get some doctors to check up on you and to clear you." Minato said, leaving the room after kissing Naruto on the forehead.

Naruto jumped out of bed, promptly falling down after realising his muscles hadn't been used in three days.

"We're glad you're okay, son." The relieved parents chuckled, Kushina helping her son up easily.

* * *

A/N: Here's the down-low, you lovable cunts:

Every major character except Minato and Naruto is a woman in this story. Think "Last Male Nin" but played down a little. There are a lot of kunoichi, but there are also some shinobi. Kunoichi pretty much run the world.

Yes, that includes Kakashi. And the rest of the Jounin teachers and their associates (Ibiki, ANBU, ROOT, etc.) And all of the male Akatsuki. And Madara. And the shinobi from other countries. Plus a lot more.

Naruto will have a harem that will consist of a lot of the characters in the series, excluding his parents.

Minato will be with Kushina.

Shut up.

*Translator's note: "Keikaku" means "plan".


	2. Chapter 2: How Many Australians Here?

A/N: So a lot of you have been waiting for me to write stuff. Crazy.

And, uh… Names. I might change the names in a later update, but at the moment, it's easier for me to focus on rewriting the originally terrible story.

And here we go again with another introduction to a Naruto story.

The name for the current leader of Takigakure was made up – there's no official thing in canon. So shut the fuck up about it. Her name's Shuko. Kazumi is the female form of Kakashi for this story. Itachi remains as Itachi because I believe the name is feminine enough as-is. Iruka is still Iruka, because I feel it's pretty feminine, too.

Unless you guys can suggest other, suitable names.

* * *

(Konoha – Close to a month later…)

It was hard growing up with the family Naruto had. Although Minato and Kushina loved him dearly, they also wanted him to succeed, and to be as strong as he could possibly be. They contacted their family friends, and trained Naruto as best they could.

The further, fast training Naruto undertook to impress the Fox was substantial, and a testament to the oddness of his family.

Minato &amp; Jiyuna took control of teaching Naruto the basics and fundamentals of sealing, where afterwards Kushina would go into the more advanced sealing techniques and the refinement of said seals.

Minato also took care of expanding Naruto's arsenal of ninja techniques, and combat strategies, effectively forging his son into a strong-willed leader. This was supplemented with diplomatic teachings as well, letting Naruto the best methods of dealing with people and his higher-ups.

Kushina took on maintaining her son's fitness, and teaching him the basics of weapon handling, allowing him to become proficient in using whatever weapon he'd later choose. For a about a week, she taught him the most basic form of the Chakra Chain technique, which Naruto took to, easily.

Jiyuna took on the job of teaching Naruto in-depth chakra control – and how to properly use and combine his and the Kyuubi's chakra effectively. Unintentionally, Jiyuna also taught the young blonde boy the best methods of peeping on those he was… "interested" in.

And finally, the Slug Sage Tsunade had taught Naruto more of all she knew about medical techniques, and how to condition one's strength. Nowhere near her superhuman levels though.

Naruto would have to impatiently wait for that. He would also have to wait for a day or two more so he could show that ass of a fox a thing or two.

(Some years later…)

The primary genin exams had come and gone, the only children that didn't pass were either civilians with no drive or _severely _lethargic clansmen. Naruto tied the highest in the practical, and third-highest in the theoretical part of the exams, matching with Satsuki in the practical and beaten by Hinata and Sakura in the theoretical.

And now, it was time for their teams to be announced.

"Team 10, led by Asuma Sarutobi, will consist of Ino Yamanaka, Chouji Akamichi and Shikamaru Nara!" Bellowed Iruka. A gruff, rough woman with a cigarette hanging from her mouth walked in.

"Team 10, with me." Asuma sighed.

"Team 8, led by Yuhi Kurenai, will consist of Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame." A red eyed brunette stepped foot in, and collected her new students.

"Team 7 will be led by Kazumi Hatake… Looks like you losers got lucky." She jabbed sarcastically.

"Why, what's so good about her?" Beckoned Sakura.

"Oh, don't worry, you'll see _soon _enough!" putting emphasis on the word "soon" made Naruto sigh in defeat. Iruka forwarded out of the classroom.

"She was my dad's student, and apparently she's late for everything, all the time." Naruto said, putting his feet up on his desk.

"…How late are we talking?" Sakura pressured. Satsuki decided on napping to pass the time, it being a pretty lazy afternoon.

"The "several hours" kind of late, so you'd best get comfortable." Following his own advice, Naruto drifted off to an uncomfortable, sitting slumber, leaving a thoroughly confused Sakura in his snoring wake.

(Several hours later, funnily enough)

A grey, spiky haired woman with an eye hidden from everyone's view leisurely strolled in to the classroom, not looking up from her little orange book. She stifled a small giggle as she put on her "teacher-face".

"Yo - sorry I'm late, I'm your sensei, Kazum- " She let her words falter at the sight of three sleeping genin.

Naruto was a light sleeper, and awoke at the sound of light footsteps entering the room.

He yawned an exaggerated yawn, and teased, deciding to be a snarky little dick for a bit.

"My, my, what time is it? I think I've missed lunch!" He looked at an imaginary wristwatch, exaggeratedly checking the imaginary time.

"And dinner!" Kazumi sighed at her new student's performance.

"Hilarious, Naruto. Really. Now wake your team mates and meet me on the roof here in five minutes." She commanded, before disappearing. Naruto sighed, and softly awoke his teammates.

(Five minutes later)

A dreary Sakura rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned.

"Alright now that we're all here, why don't we start with introductions? Likes, dislikes, dreams, hobbies, stuff like that." Kazumi mumbled, depositing her book for the moment and sitting across from her new students.

"'Ruto, why don't you go first?" She teased her pupil. Naruto smiled at her and tried to hide a small blush that appeared on his whiskered cheeks.

"Okay… I'm Naruto; I like a lot of things. This village is nice, and I like the people in it. I dislike vandals with a passion. My dream is one day to surpass my dad and become the Godaime Hokage. I guess my hobbies would be training and generally dicking around." Naruto said with a shrug.

"Okay… Now you, Pinky." Kazumi taunted.

Said "Pinky" ignored the misnomer and thought to herself deeply.

"My name is Sakura, I like to talk crap about people with my friends. I don't dislike too much, although I hate bugs. I don't have any dreams or hobbies that are worthwhile noting." She said, preferring to keep some of her aspirations to herself.

"Hm… And you, Saucey?"

"It's Satsuki. I like training and practicing techniques. I don't have any dislikes, and my dream is to one day be as strong as my sister, Itachi. As for hobbies, I like hanging out these idiots." She said with a small smile.

"Ok, great. Now's the time for your secondary genin exam. Meet me at training ground seven tomorrow, and be sure not to eat breakfast, it'll just make you throw u-" Kazumi began, before being cut off by Naruto.

"It's a teamwork test, isn't it? Something magical that'll make us want to turn against each other? I'll save you some time; We've trained together as a group for a while now. I'd gladly throw my life on the line for these two – they're like sisters to me." The blonde boy remarked to his sensei.

Kazumi's shoulders slumped at this, and tried to reign in the rage she felt for Naruto. She sighed, and mentally cursed the boy. And almost unnoticeably, Satsuki cringed at Naruto's comment.

'_Sister? Really?'_ Satsuki thought to herself, her expression remaining otherwise neutral. Honestly, she thought he saw more of her than that.

"That may be true – but would they do the same fo-"

"I would, same for Sakura here." Retorted Satsuki.

"I wouldn't be where I am today without these two. I owe them one, and would gladly do all I could to keep them from harm." Sakura replied.

"…Alright, fine, you all pass, report to the Hokage's office tomorrow morning for our first mission. 6 AM, sharp."

The three nodded in agreement before Kazumi disappeared in a torrent of leaves.

"We should practice that one next time we're all free. I mean, how cool would that be? Interrupt any conversation by appearing or disappearing in a freakin' cloud of leaves." Noted Naruto offhandedly.

Satsuki and Sakura chuckled in response.

They each went their separate ways – Satsuki to her clan's compound to train privately, Sakura to her house to get some rest, and Naruto to the Hokage tower, to see his dad, the Hokage.

Before the blonde mop could jump down from the rooftops, however, he was literally held back by Kazumi. He chuckled sheepishly as her familiar scent filled his nostrils.

"Heh… Hey, sensei…" Naruto greeted her again. Kazumi sighed and pulled him back from the edge of the roof.

"That was low, 'Ruto. You and your teammates, teaming up against your sensei like that…" Kazumi drawled on, attempting to guilt-trip her teenaged student. Naruto rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Well… Sorry about that. But you know me! I hate to do extra work, plus, we do really work well as a team, y'know?" Naruto pleaded with his teacher. She crossed her arms over her light flak vest and sighed, tapping her foot on the ground.

"I don't know, you still sandbagged me pretty hard, 'Ruto." Kazumi said as she inched ever closer to the Jinchuuriki. Naruto tried to back up, and stopped and cursed to himself as his heel sat on the edge of the rooftop.

She grabbed him, gently, but with a firm grasp, and pulled him towards her. Naruto froze as he almost met Kazumi's giant stature. He swore he could feel her hot breath glide past his sensitive whiskers.

Kazumi chuckled and let go of her student, before backing away and flicking his forehead.

"If I were 5 years younger…" She mumbled to herself on her way down from the top of the building. Naruto stood there, shocked, before he leapt down and shook his head of what just happened.

'_Jeez… Kazumi's never been that creepy around me before…'_ Naruto deliberated, thinking back to their previous interactions.

He stopped by Ichiraku Ramen to pick up some of the good stuff – it was pretty much the only portable food Naruto could bring around quickly to his father, and it was getting quite late.

On his way to the tower he met up and talked briefly with his official girlfriend of two years, Hinata, about their new teams. Both were saddened they weren't on the same team, but Hinata vowed to make new friends and work well with her new team mates and sensei.

Naruto told her about how he saw through Kazumi's plans and how they completely avoided their secondary genin test. Hinata giggled at the story and left - making her way to her clan's estate, but not before giving her boyfriend a light peck on his lips.

Naruto picked up his pace towards the tower with a bounce in his step, two beef ramen cups in his hands like two tiny cauldrons of lava, melting his fingers ever so slowly.

Minato finished the last of his paperwork rather swiftly, as if he was expecting something.

His nostrils widened.

He let in a deep sniff.

Meaty ramen.

Approaching fast.

Every so often Minato would forget a meal or two during his long bouts of paperwork, but when it happened it'd often be his son to bail him out and save the day, getting him a cup of his favourite flavour.

He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out two glasses and a bottle of drink, pouring something for the both of them.

'_3… 2… 1… Boom.' _

Naruto burst through the door and smashed the cups on Minato's cleared desk, shaking and blowing on his hands in an effort to remedy himself. Minato opted for thanking his son briefly before surreptitiously and gracefully devouring the delicious ramen.

"Fuck, those are hot!" Naruto shouted, making sure the door behind him was closed.

"Language!" Minato said, with a mouthful of noodles.

"You don't have carry the damn things, dad! I am literally on fire!" Naruto reasoned.

After he had calmed down, Naruto sat down, ate, and talked about his day with his father. Minato choked from laughter at Naruto's dispute with Kazumi.

"Oh man, she's gonna be pissed when you guys meet again, huh?" He laughed with his son in a jovial manner. Naruto then became distant and remained silent for the next five minutes.

The two turned themselves in at around 8:30, Naruto studying till 10PM before nodding off into an unusually deep slumber.

(Naruto's Mindscape – Night time)

Naruto found himself before an, unfortunately, familiar place. This had to be at least his hundredth visit to the Fox. The blonde sighed as he traipsed pass the familiarly dank walls and floor.

"Wow this place is a shithole. Why do I have to be dragged here when I see you?" Naruto beckoned to Kurama. The Nine-Tails sighed angrily and stood up from its reclining position.

"**We're technically in your mind, you benign fool. Will a different setting into existence here, if you so wish." **Kurama taunted Naruto. Naruto sighed and did as the beast suggested.

Sure enough, a few seconds later and they were standing atop the Hokage monument, amidst a beautiful sunset.

"**How sentimental."** The beast taunted further. Naruto closed his eyes and smiled, dangerously.

"Could you not? I mean really, could you dial back the "Dick-Meter" down a few fucking notches? I'm trying here, I really am." Naruto suggested helpfully, with the fox huffing at him angrily within its cage, above the town.

"**You'll have to forgive me for not showing the appreciation you get heaped with daily from the little sluts you call your friends. I'd like to think I have higher standards than most."** Kurama bellowed angrily at the boy, who huffed back.

"Is that all I'm here for, though? For you to complain about? Or do you want to fucking lighten up and make this experience less painful for the both of us?" Naruto asked it. The Fox shifted silently.

"**Well, my intention for dragging your sorry hide here was to evaluate you again, if you hadn't forgotten."** The Nine-Tails reminded Naruto, who nodded to it.

"How could I forget? It's not like you didn't do the same thing the last ninety-nine times, right?"

"**I can sense things from your view now, Naruto. I can choose to see what you see, feel what you feel. I can sense you've been working hard to improve yourself. Chakra flow has been marginally improved, and your control has definitely increased. The more advanced chain techniques I see are becoming more second nature to you… I also see you've experimented with the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, as well… Overall, I'm pleased."** The beastly beast bellowed. Naruto beamed at that, and the Fox made a quick effort to shut that down.

"**I said pleased, not impressed. Although I'm curious, child – why did you improve yourself so drastically? Your former self is but a shadow compared to your might now."** Inquired the towering titan of a creature.

"I really, really hate it when people say I can't do something. I also enjoy proving people wrong." Naruto teased.

"**Hm… An odd motivator, but reasonable, given your demeanour." **It's words stumbled slightly.

"**Tell you what. Since you're able to maintain this progress, I'll be more willing to part with my reserves to you during battle. The more you improve, the more I'll work with you."** The beast offered. Naruto looked at it, confused.

"Don't I already get some of your chakra, anyway?" Naruto asked it. He figured if the seal sealed the Fox inside him, then surely some chakra would at least leak, right?

"**Yes, you do. But that's not of my own will, and because of that, it's more likely to make your control unstable when you do finally use it. The chakra I willingly gift you will not have such effects."** The Kyuubi remained silent after this, as Naruto deliberated over the deal.

"Although I've been told never to make deals with strangers a hundred times my own size, I'm not going to turn down a pact like this. You've got a deal, Kurama." Naruto said, nodding to the beast with a small smile. As Naruto was about to leave his mind, Kurama cleared its throat.

"**Oh, and you may want to keep an eye out for fellow Jinchuuriki, such as yourself. Befriending those tortured souls might prove useful during war-time."**

"Hn? War-time?" Naruto asked dumbly. The Fox nodded at him.

"**You'll see war in your lifetime – this, I can guarantee you. It'd be wise if you got to know your fellow Tailed Beast containers. Gathering assets, that sort of thing…"** The Fox drawled, before going into a slumbering position. Naruto nodded to the beast.

"Right… Sure." He said, leaving the Fox for yet another time.

(Just outside Mission Assignment – 5:55 AM)

Naruto and Satsuki were chatting idly whilst waiting for Sakura and Kazumi.

Minutes later, Sakura showed up, irked at the fact that she could not see Kazumi anywhere.

"She's late again, isn't she?" Sakura questioned woefully.

"Give her two minutes." Naruto replied.

So one hundred and seventeen seconds passed.

"3… 2… 1…"

*poof*

"Ayy." Kazumi greeted, smoke still willowing around her.

The three greeted back rather unenthusiastically. Their parents had informed them what missions they'd be getting, and what the D – ranks usually entailed for them. Needless to say, it did not sound like a fulfilling prospect for anyone. The only upside is they'd be getting paid, if only scraps for their work, so it wasn't _that _bad.

"Come on, perk up, guys! For once I think you could all take a note out of Geiru's book." The three teens gave Kazumi a confused look, before a swift green blur flew past them and into the Mission Assignment building, followed by two jogging students.

Naruto waved Nejiko down, who swiftly waved back, before continuing to catch up to her sensei.

"She always says that unimpressed or languid teens are too common and that the cliché has been played too much." Kazumi teased the group, who groaned and tried their best to perk up.

They all stepped foot into the Mission Assignment building, seeing Iruka finish up some reports briefly before looking up and smiling at the team warmly.

"So, did Kazumi finally go soft on me? What about never having passed a genin team?" She teased.

"Hilarious, Umino. We're actually here to pick up our first team mission, what have you got for us?"

"Let me see here… ah! Uh… looks like Tora the cat has gone missing _again_." Iruka said, venom dripping from her words.

"What's so bad about that?" Sakura questioned.

"You'll see when you retrieve him." Iruka replied plainly, horrifying memories flashing past her eyes in seconds. A traumatised shudder shook her very core, and she sighed shakily, handing the mission papers to Kazumi.

"Thank you. We'll have that darn cat cooked and stuffed by midnight tonight, if we're lucky." Kazumi left no room for banter as she exited the building. The three genin soon followed, sensing that Kazumi wanted this to end as quickly as possible.

(Central Konoha – 8:30 AM)

"Alright team, these are our communicators, tune in to channel 16." Kazumi ordered as she handed out the ear pieces.

"I'll take the north, Naruto, you'll take the south, Sakura will have the east, and Satsuki, the west. Report here if we find that insufferable cat." She ordered.

After obtaining the brief physical description of said cat, the team nodded and sped off their quadrants. It took some hours, but the team gained visuals on the cat and hunted it down relentlessly. Naruto was called on to swarm the area with clones, to have them spread out and corner the cat, whereupon Sakura pounced on it and subdued it with some catnip.

She activated her communicator, and radioed in a recon.

About thirty minutes later, Tora was in the Fire Daimyo's wife's arms, being literally smothered with affection and love that it didn't seem to reciprocate.

After collecting their payment, Team 7 went through weeks doing a multitude of arduous D – rank missions, after giving up and finally breaking down in Missions Assignment.

"This is just ridiculous! Isn't it a bit counter-intuitive to have trained ninja doing housework chores for lazy bastards? That kind of crap dulls our senses!" Sakura screamed at the stunned Academy teacher. Iruka held her hands up in defence at Sakura's ranting and sighed.

Naruto, Satsuki and Kazumi simply remained silent, as to hopefully not incur her wrath.

Iruka sighed and pulled out a folder with a big, red 'C' stamped into the top left corner. Satsuki's eyes grew wide as she looked on at the manila folder, and Naruto had to hide the sudden erection at seeing such a mission.

"There is one C - rank mission available for your level. It's an escort mission to transport a man named Tazuna back to his home in Nami no Kuni. Should you choose to accept, the mission will begin two days from now, at 6 AM." Iruka noted, reading the statement she was given in regards to the mission.

Seeing no other option, Kazumi accepted the mission and forwarded out of the office once more.

(Outside the Hokage Tower)

"Awesome, our first C – rank mission!" Naruto yelled to Satsuki and Sakura when they had exited the building.

"Yeah, thanks for taking one for the team, Sakura, I was almost going to yell at Iruka myself." Satsuki chuckled, causing Naruto to join in and Sakura to blush madly.

The three parted ways to ready for their mission in due time, shortly after having a quick conversation. As Naruto thought on what to pack for his first mission, he saw the majority of Team 10 relaxing on a large, green hill.

He casually made his way over to them and joined Shikamaru's lazy, lying position on the soft grass.

"Sup – Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru." He greeted all of them, who gave him friendly greetings.

"Hey, Dummy." Ino teased him, using the same pet name for him Sakura had. (This unknowingly caused a great disturbance in the energies of one Sakura Haruno, feeling as if as though her identity would be lost, later on.)

Naruto stuck his tongue out the fellow blonde, in any case.

"Good afternoon, Naruto." Chouji greeted formally, the delightfully chubby teen having just finished up her grand lunch.

Shikamaru stuck her eyes open and smiled softly at the blonde intrusion.

"Morning, Naruto." She joked.

And so said blonde intrusion checked up on the group and how their new sensei was treating them. Also at how they managed to work well as a team.

"Eh, she's alright. Though I wish she wouldn't smoke near me." Shikamaru commented offhandedly. Naruto looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh? Is the great Nara Shikamaru afraid of a little cigarette smoke?" Naruto teased her. She grinned to him and readjusted her position on the grass.

"Something like that. It's much too troublesome to make the extra effort in exhaling all that second-hand smoke." She mentioned in true fashion, eliciting a girly giggle from Naruto.

And so he bid them a farewell, not forgetting to show off his team's C-Rank mission, basking in the glow of jealousy from his peers.

(At the Uchiha Compound)

Although she was happy that they'd gotten a slightly more respectable type of mission, Satsuki felt worry for Naruto. He was a shinobi, not a kunoichi, and although she couldn't doubt the power he had, she held worry for the team encountering someone they wouldn't be able to fight on equal ground.

Naruto tended to help those in need, to rush into things without thinking them through.

But she loved him. The past few years spending all that time with him made her realise this. She didn't care that Hinata basically owned him.

Satsuki wouldn't let anything happen to him.

(Namikaze Estates – 6 AM)

Naruto was budged by Kushina, who decided to drag him and a small packed bag of his clothes out the door of their house, where Minato was waiting and yawning.

"Mmmm… No, Hinata… Your mom would be so pissed…" Naruto mumbled to himself, before a small jab to his ribs woke him abruptly. He looked around, and took his bag from his mother, before yawning and noticing the arrival of some Jounin and Jiyuna near Minato.

"Oh? Where we goin'?" Naruto asked. Kushina stretched and sighed happily.

"We're going to accompany your father to Takigakure. Apparently their leader wants to form an alliance with Konoha. We're taking you along so you can get a taste of what it's like to be all diplomatic." Kushina explained, throwing her own bag on her back and ushering her son to lead the trek.

"You're also gonna get a taste of what it's like to protect a big shot. Some practice for that upcoming mission your friend yelled her way into." Minato chuckled, having overheard the spiel from Iruka and Kizashi.

(Later, on the outskirts of Taki…)

It took some hours, as the land of Takigakure was not far from Konoha's borders, and the speed of the unit escorting the Hokage was ample enough that the team arrived quickly. The sun was only setting as they arrived to the wonderful Village.

The entrance was hidden, funnily enough, by a massive, flowing waterfall, that the team had no trouble of running up. They were greeted to the sight of a massive, _massive _tree, surrounded by a veritable village of quaint houses and shops.

The leader, Shuko's residence, was at the base of the tree, and was the destination of Minato. His Honour Guard flanked him, and Jiyuna departed as soon as she arrived within the village limits, heading to garner information from a local tavern.

Kushina held back, with Naruto, to aide him in observing and commenting on what her husband did as discussions and agreements took place between the two parties. The Konoha party was led to the residence of the village leader, and Naruto witnessed the agreements they came upon for the alliance between the two villages.

"Takigakure proposes an alliance with Konohagakure. For this, we are prepared to offer our troops if war ever rises, our engineer support, and above all, a limited supply of our magical Hero Water." Shuko offered initially and professionally, her advisors sitting either side of her.

"In addition to which we should mention our position within the Elemental Nations – no doubt a strong foothold for Konoha, should an alliance be made." The supervisor to her left said. Minato and Jiyuna thought on the deal and smiled to their future allies.

"In turn, what do you wish for Konoha to provide for Taki?" Jiyuna inquired informally. Shuko shifted slightly in her seat and sighed.

"As you know, our village has been made a recent target for attacks and raids, due to our abundance in Hero Water. As my advisor mentioned, our position in the lands is also much sought after. I only wish Konoha to provide aide to us if the need arises. Anything else you might counteroffer would be greatly appreciated, however." Shuko confessed with a small smile. Minato nodded and grinned back.

"Well, I'm glad you're honest with us. In addition to our protection from any attacks, we'll establish a safer route from here to Konoha, to allow for better trading and communication. Takigakure will also gain access to any information gathered from Konohagakure's spy network." Minato counter-offered, relishing in the smiles he saw from the village leaders across from him.

Shuko couldn't wipe the smile off her face, and let her shoulders slump as a massive weight had been lifted off the town.

Afterwards, Shuko led Minato and her escort unit to dinner to celebrate the new alliance, and introduced Naruto to her similarly–aged daughter, Shibuki. Shibuki had led Naruto outside to witness the beauty of the village at night – as the lakes of clear water shimmered in what moonlight peered from the canopy.

"Wow…" Naruto droned as he stared, open-mouthed at the glimmering, shimmering lakes of pure water. Shibuki politely laughed at him and offered him some of her desert treat, to which he accepted eagerly, attempting to engage her in conversation, despite his awe.

As the two attempted to enjoy the moment, they were interrupted by a loud explosion that sounded near one of the academies of the town. The blonde Jinchuuriki sprang up, body tense and hands ready for any impromptu jutsu.

"What the hell was that?" He asked Shibuki, who appeared anxious.

"N-no idea! It came from the east, I think." She answered meekly. Naruto nodded and rushed over to the area, with Shibuki following him close.

(In East Takigakure)

"You know what they say – art is a bang!" A blonde haired kunoichi taunted proudly, sending a clay bird to a collapsing girl. Said girl tried her best to dodge the bird, but got caught in the aftermath and shockwave of the explosion, which sent her back a few meters, rolling.

The minty-haired girl grumbled into the ground, but looked at the appearing help from behind the woman who attacked her. The explosion deafened her, and she couldn't quite make out the image of the two.

"Hey, asshole!" Naruto called, gaining the kunoichi's attention. The demolitionist turned to the blonde boy with a pissed off look and sent a volley of explosive birds towards him for his remark. Shibuki rolled out of the way of the birds to cover the attacked girl.

"Fu? Fu, are you okay!?" Shibuki stammered. The girl apparently named Fu had some large bruises and cuts, but was breathing steadily. The demonic chakra surrounding her was healing whatever injuries she sustained quite fast.

"Dandy… Who's your friend?" Fu jested weakly. Shibuki laughed, ignoring the battle in front of her, and pulling out a small bottle of Hero Water to help her friend recuperate.

"His name's Naruto. He's the Hokage's son… Here, drink." Shibuki said quietly, ruffling her long, dark hair as she stared worriedly at Fu, handing her the bottle of water.

Meanwhile, Naruto managed to either dodge or deploy decoy clones to absorb the damage from the blonde terrorists' blasts, and thought on taunting her until she ran out of material to try and blow shit up with.

'_Hmm… A sound plan, but I need to come up with something better to wear her out. No way am I able to overpower her. I also need to keep my distance from all those little explosives…'_ Naruto thought, creating clones afterwards, and sending one to call for backup. Whatever others that were left were used to taunt and goad the kunoichi.

Naruto made sure to leap away from any stray explosive clay around him, as the memories of his perished clones continuously updated him on the state of the battlefield.

'_That's the Nine-Tails! I could probably bag both now if I wanted… And it looks like the little bastard's trying to wear me out… I'll need that dumbass Sasori if I want to make it easy on myself, though...'_ Deidara thought to herself dangerously, before sending two birds to clear out the majority of Naruto's clones out.

* * *

A/N: R&amp;R, whatever the gosh darn duckery that means.


	3. Chapter 3: Give us a shout ay

A/N: Howdy! If you'd like to see me write more stuff, then please listen to my music over at Souncloud! (Under the name Red Robotix!)

I make music there, and I'd appreciate any support you give me. I mean, seeing a few hundred plays makes me a happy psytronix. And a happy psytronix is a productive psytronix.

Trust me, I know. I'm a psytronix.

Gozu and Meizu are female. Names are the same. Unless some fantastic person can give me better ones.

* * *

Naruto took a good, long look at the blonde woman, as his clones battled and dispelled.

He had _no_ idea who this was, nor could he effectively garner her skill level as his clones were fought a slain by her hand. Or rather, the explosive clay hands she'd slap the blonde copies with.

Naruto sighed, and came to the notion that she was probably hiding most of her skills from the people she'd fought, and that she was pretty much wiping out his clone army with the most basic techniques in her arsenal.

The blonde Jinchuuriki sighed, feeling a minor, almost unnoticeable pulse emanate from his seal.

'_**Don't you even think about it. Save my energy for when you're depleted, not when you're just getting started.'**_ He heard Kurama's demonic voice resound through his brain. Naruto sighed and felt irritation course through him.

'_I wasn't… Ugh. Never mind.'_ He bit back at it, noticing that the blonde haired woman fighting his clones had begun to saw through them at an increased rate. The cloaked woman launched a cascade of clay birds, which opened their wings in mid-air, soaring towards her target and the unfortunate helper.

Having caught site at what the birds were aimed at, Naruto sprinted, and dove.

Shibuki, tending to Fu in her arms, stared at the incoming explosives with horrified eyes. They both made an attempt to move out of the way, but would still be caught in the explosion's kill zone.

Gaining solid footing, Naruto aimed an opened hand towards the explosive birds, and pulsed an enormous amount of chakra through his fingertips, creating a force-field which propelled the birds back at their caster.

"Shit!" Deidara yelled, dodging the exploding birds with great agility. Her coat was torn up, so she discarded it, revealing a plain brown outfit with many packets and pouches strapped to her long-sleeved shirt. Naruto, squinting his eyes in the dust of the aftermath, could see what looked like mouth openings, on each of the rogue ninja's hands.

Naruto breathed harshly, a deep headache pulsing in his head from spending too much of his chakra.

"T-the hell was that!?" Fu yelled at him, in shock. Naruto chuckled through the intense pain, his fists clenched so tight that they were drawing blood.

"Some technique I hadn't tested before." Naruto grunted out, before feeling another influx of memories rush to his own. He took deep breaths, staring off at the rogue ninja, and sighed.

"I'll get Fu out of here – a-and send for help!" Shibuki stammered out to him. Naruto nodded and smiled at her, looking at the rushing posse that was currently stampeding and leaping down the streets of Takigakure.

"Like I'd give you the damn chance!" Deidara yelled, forming a hand seal used to ignite her explosives. Naruto looked down to the ground, and saw little white spiders, crawling up his trousers.

Cursing to himself, he sped towards Deidara as fast as he could. It felt as if time had slowed down, and giving a little glance back to his newfound allies, Naruto confirmed that the spidery explosive creatures were only on him.

With a sigh, he leapt towards the demolitionist, and sent his feet into her chest, sending a shock, and knocking the wind out of her.

Well, if he was going to die, dying with a "bang" would be preferable. Even better if he could take somebody else down with him.

Naruto only remembered a horrible, awful, burning sensation dance across his body, before blacking out.

Deidara recovered from her own explosion, and cursed at the loss of feeling in right arm. Not that it was completely disabling – as she could still form hand seals and explosives with her left.

It was an annoyance, still.

"Sasori! Get your fat, puppet ass here and fucking help me!" She yelled out to someone. It wasn't the first time the bitch had abandoned her. Stupid redhead was probably caught on some branches a few miles out of the village and hadn't bothered to ask for help getting dislodged.

It was then time slowed again. Minato, in a yellow flash, appeared with Kushina at his side. In his right hand a Big-Ball Rasengan was formed. Deidara's eyes widened as he launched it towards her chest.

It was then Kushina leapt at her and laid a torrent of kicks, punches, and slashes to her with a random weapon she'd equipped herself with, all while Deidara was suspended in the air by Minato's powerful technique.

"Kushina, trap her!" The Hokage yelled, and his wife complied, chakra chains emerging from the earth to bind Deidara tightly to the ground. Holding her technique in place with naught but a thought, Kushina ordered Minato to check on their son.

It was then Shibuki, Shuko, Fu, Jiyuna, and the rest of the village leader's escorts and advisors rushed down, Jiyuna, Shibuki, Shuko and Fu crowding around Naruto.

Assessing his condition, Minato could see his son was still alive, and that his major wounds were already sealing and healing thanks to the demonic chakra coursing through his coils.

'_This… This is like Fu's…'_ Shuko thought hurriedly, reaching into her back pouch to retrieve a small vial of Hero Water.

As soon as Shibuki saw what her mother was reaching for she held Shuko's hands in place.

"Mom, stop! Won't that shorten his lifespan?" Shibuki asked her mother, worriedly. Shuko uncapped the vial, and turned to look at Fu, then Minato, sensing the fear in both of them.

"He's a Jinchuuriki, isn't he?" Shuko asked Minato. Begrudgingly, the Yondaime sent a look to Jiyuna, who nodded to him.

"Yes, yes he is." Minato said with a deep sigh. Shuko slipped the vial in between Naruto's lips, and he instinctively swallowed the small amount of clear liquid.

"Fu is, too. Their… Demons can burn away the curse of the Hero Water. It can be used to heal normal shinobi and civilians injuries just fine, but when somebody attempts to use the Water to restore their chakra, it can… Bring about their death faster." Shuko explained, the crowd around them looking on at Naruto with awe.

The liquid sent a white glow through Naruto's body, which eventually melded with the red-orange glow of Kurama's own chakra, the two eventually dispersing as Naruto lurched upwards and breathed deeply.

Naruto felt his father's hands reach either side of temples, which calmed him to no end.

"What… What the hell happened?" Naruto asked in shock.

"We got the rogue nin, 'Ruto. And don't worry, your friends are safe." Minato relayed, with his most comforting tone of voice. Naruto nodded to him, and laid his head back down on the ground, letting out a low groan as the final minor cuts and scars were quickly and efficiently healed by the Kyuubi's chakra.

"Any identification on who the ninja is?" A Takigakure guard asked. Kushina moved her foot off the woman's back and looked down at her.

"What's your name?" Kushina asked plainly. The once-cloaked woman spat at Kushina as best she could and attempted to wriggle out from her chains. Kushina had made sure to bind her hands back and as far away from her clay as possible.

"…"

Jiyuna took a step forward, squatted down low, and took a long look at the woman.

"She's an Akatsuki member. Her name is Deidara, and she's a missing ninja from Iwagakure." The Toad Sage denoted, the group behind nodding, experiencing first-hand the diplomatic ties that would grow between the two nations.

"But, ugh! …Why was she after Fu?" Naruto asked. Jiyuna perked at the information and further thought on it before answering.

"It'd make sense… The Akatsuki have been trying to hunt down Jinchuuriki for some time now." Jiyuna mentioned to herself, although the rest of the people heard her.

Naruto sighed and closed his eyes, cursing that he had a ridiculously long day ahead of him tomorrow. Shuko and Minato's officials began to disperse, leaving the Konoha party ready for departure, plus one.

Before they left, Naruto returned to see Shibuki and Fu talking and laughing, despite all that had happened. He smiled to them, and they smiled back.

"Are you okay, Fu?" Naruto asked her, the minty-haired beauty alleviating her gaze away from the blonde.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Th-thanks for saving me." She said back, meekly. Naruto threw his hands behind his head and sighed.

"I wish there was some way we could keep in touch with each other. It'd be nice to network with our villages, huh?" Naruto asked them. Shibuki chuckled a little awkwardly, and forced a tiny blush down.

"Yeah, that'd be nice. Though like your dad said, if we can set up a supply line, I'm sure we could pay the couriers a little extra to deliver some letters, right?" The brown-haired girl asked. Naruto shrugged his shoulders with a jovial smile.

"Of course. Didn't think of that… Oh! Here, take this." Naruto said, pulling out a small scroll from his jacket pocket and handing it to Fu. She unravelled the scroll and looked on at a simple looking seal, with confusion.

"It's a transport seal. If you're ever in trouble, just send some chakra into it and I'll be notified with its other half." Naruto said, pulling out another piece of paper with an identical receiver seal on it.

Fu still gave him a judging look, however.

"Wait… How will you be able to help then?" She asked. Naruto chuckled at her, scratching the back of his head.

"Well – I don't have the technique down just yet, but if it's an emergency, I can… Instantly transport myself here." Naruto answered her. Both kunoichi gasped at the notion that Naruto was even able to pull the technique off.

Well, he hadn't bullshitted them before, so he had no reason to do it to them now, in any case.

"Like I said; emergencies only until I can get the technique down without killing myself." Naruto said with a chuckle, the other two joining in after having the ice broken. Fu safely pocketed the piece of paper and thanked Naruto.

"Alright… Well, we're heading off now – I'll see you two soon." Naruto farewelled, winking at both as he departed with the Hokage's convoy. Fu and Shibuki waved back to the Konoha genin, a small pulse coming from Fu's seal as she did so.

(Some hours Later)

The Hokage and his honour guard had arrived safely within the gates of Konoha, and bound still by Kushina's durable chakra chains, the prisoner Deidara silently walked in the centre of them, some of the Jounin having confiscated her clay.

"Alright… Your father and I will take this one in for questioning. In the meantime, you should really catch up on some sleep, Naruto." Kushina informed him gesturing to the captured Akatsuki member. He nodded to his mother, farewelled the rest of the group, and did as he was told, slumbering easily.

(Konoha Gates – Some time later)

Naruto was the last to arrive to the gates, arriving exactly on time. Satsuki gave a small giggle at his tired looks and smiled at him, whilst Sakura looked on at him with a bit of worry.

"Long night?" Satsuki teased him. Naruto smiled at her and poked his tongue out.

"Yeah, yeah. I was up all night masturbating, you've caught me…" He teased the both of them, flaunting his body in an unintentionally sexy pose, which Satsuki skilfully ignored and laughed at.

Sakura blushed and snorted.

"Well, at least we know you're okay." She teased the blonde. That was when they heard their sensei clear her throat, finally now noticing her as she was standing right next to their client.

"If you three are quite done verbally pleasing each other, are well all set? We're not going to be seeing the village for a few days." Kazumi questioned her burgeoning genin team.

The three looked to each other, and questioned their sensei and their client about the Land of Waves.

"Climate?" Satsuki inquired, shouldering her small backpack with one hand, and using the other to toy with a shuriken in her pocket. Despite his early morning hangover, Tazuna managed to answer the Uchiha.

"Yeah… It's hot and damp. Except for when it's cold and damp. Then it's just mildly temperate and damp, most of the time though…" He blurted out, cricking his back slightly and sighing.

"Lots of rain. And mist." Kazumi added, one uncovered eye on her little orange book.

"Lots of hiding spots for people, too…" Sakura thought aloud. The group nodded at this statement, and Tazuna became noticeably uneasy.

"You okay?" Naruto asked him, and he nodded.

"Yeah, yeah kid, I'm fine. The sake doesn't help, though." He answered, pretending to have a worse headache than he actually did, successfully hiding his true intentions.

With no more to say, the group trudged their way to Nami No Kuni – the Land of Waves.

(A clearing – Some time later)

"Yo, wait." The cycloptic jounin commanded. Her team and client halted their tracks immediately, and noticed the puddles of water on the ground.

"Now, can someone tell me what the problem is here?" Kazumi asked her students. Naruto emphatically put his hand in the air, eager to answer the question. Kazumi turned her back to the puddles and stroked her chin, depositing her book.

"Hm… Satsuki – can you tell me?" She asked, turning back, motioning a hand to the puddles. Satsuki sighed at her teacher's antics.

"We're still in the Land of Fire, aren't we? If that's the case, then puddles this big shouldn't occur naturally. So that means that either there was a huge fight here where people used water techniques, or..." Satsuki began, noticing two armoured, feminine figures rise out of the puddles.

"Ambush!" Sakura yelled, speeding past Tazuna to launch a punch at the armoured figure on her left, which dispersed back into its puddle of water.

Satsuki launched herself at the other figure, and successfully landed a few surprise punches and kicks. Just as Naruto was about to help his friends, Satsuki managed to put her target in a heavy hold, and stared daggers at Naruto.

"Stay back, Naruto! Protect the client!" She yelled to him. Naruto grunted, and relented, creating a venerable army of clones. He then rushed to help Sakura. The figure she easily punched through re-materialised behind her, catching her off guard.

Just as the assailant was about to launch their bladed gauntlet into Sakura, Naruto kicked her hand up and ripped the gauntlet off, confusing the masked attacker. Sakura took the opportunity and threw a powerful, chakra-augmented punch to her opponent's sternum, knocking the wind out of her.

"Naruto! I said stay back with the client!" Satsuki reprimanded him, her one-horned opponent struggling and eventually dispersing back into water.

Naruto subdued the two-horned woman and bound her with Chakra Chains, ignoring the Uchiha's worry.

Satsuki's one-horned target broke through her defence and batted her away, aiming to harm Tazuna. Kazumi swiftly ended her charge, and the blonde's shadow clones surrounded and bound the assailant as well.

Kazumi stood in front of the two writhing women, who she could tell, even with their masks, that they were sisters.

"Oi! What are your names?" Kazumi inquired forcefully.

"Gozu." The one-horned sibling said.

"And Meizu!" Said the two-horned sister.

"We are the Demon Sisters of Kirigakure!" Gozu announced, prideful. Kazumi attempted to hide a snort, as she crouched down and observed the pair.

"Now, tell me: What would two sisters of your infamy be doing out here?" The experienced jounin asked the comparatively green Kiri chunin.

"There's no way we're telling you!" Meizu answered them, with a visible sneer from behind her headgear. Her sister sighed and cursed into the dirt.

"Meizu, shut your mouth!" Gozu yelled at her sister. Soon after, the two devolved into a vicious argument. Sakura and Tazuna ended up cringing at the insults the two could come up with, whilst Kazumi and Satsuki attempted to stifle giggles. Naruto looked on at the two, and at his surroundings, to determine whether or not this was actually an elaborate, confusing trap.

He felt his sensei rest her hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to her.

"Alright, Naruto - work your magic. If you can get these two to divulge any information, I might be inclined to teach you and the others a new technique…" Kazumi sultrily offered. Naruto gave her one of his foxy grins, eager at the chance to add a new "weapon" to his arsenal.

Kazumi moved away from the sisters, and Naruto took her spot, crouching down low to meet the Demon Sisters at almost-eye-level. He ordered his remaining clones to bring the Sisters up to a seating position, gaining their attention.

"Look, you two are obviously a little more than highwaymen. Why'd you attack us?" Naruto asked them calmly. Meizu death-stared him, while her sister avoided his gaze. A minute of silence followed, and Naruto sighed.

"Listen, this can go a couple of ways. We can leave you guys tied up, and take your weapons, and give you to any authority willing to take you, seeing as you're technically in Fire Country without any papers…" Naruto said with a slightly disgusted look, a tactic to aid the Sisters in choosing the option _he_ wanted them to.

"…You could give us a bit of info, and we could let you guys go. Though I'm afraid we'd probably meet up again later, and you guys'd be pretty ineffective at combat, seeing as we'd have to keep your gauntlets…" The blonde offered, his face softening. The Sisters both gave him levelling, judging stares, as if they were trying to guess his every move.

"…Or we could make friends." Naruto offered simply, with a genuine smile. Tazuna was floored by the genin's attitude, and was almost going to yell at him. Satsuki gave the bridge-builder a stare that implored him to be quiet and to continue watching the show in front of them unfold.

The Sisters looked to each other, and Gozu was the first to speak up.

"Why don't you just kill us? You know we're wanted kunoichi – why doesn't Konoha kill us and take the bounty?" She asked him, calmly, her stare having softened from appalled, to angered, to slightly fussy.

Naruto cringed at the question and inhaled sharply.

"I don't want to see you two die. You're what, like, 20?" He asked them, fully sitting on his rump to appear non-threatening. The two scoffed at him.

"That's irrelevant." Gozu answered. Naruto sighed, and his shoulders sunk.

"Well, my point is that you've got to think about murder from a certain standpoint. When you murder someone, you're ending everything about them. Every memory, every action they've ever done, gone. Because you've ended their life. Everything they once were, and would ever be, gone." Naruto said slowly, letting every word sink in. Another moment of silence followed before Naruto spoke up again.

"Listen, we could sit here all day. At the end of it all, I don't want to end your lives, because you two seem really nice. I mean, under the scary-ass masks and the bladed, poisoned gloves and whatnot." Naruto said offhandedly, shrugging his shoulders. Meizu looked to her sister and huffed.

"What one of your little options ends with us getting those gauntlets back?" She asked him, dangerously. Naruto rubbed his chin, pretending to think on the question. Again, he shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"Well, if we all make friends, I guess we could begin to trust you guys enough to _maybe_ give the gauntlets back." Naruto teased. Meizu looked down at herself and sighed angrily.

""Making friends"? You've got to be fucking kidding me." She bit at Naruto. The blonde held his hands up in defence.

"I'm being completely serious. It'd be nice to have pen-pals in Kirigakure." Naruto joked, with a jovial smile. Gozu looked up again at Naruto, with an unbroken stare.

"Yeah, no chance of us ever returning back there again." Gozu mentioned to him. Naruto perked an eyebrow up at this new information.

"Why not?" He asked them innocently.

"We tried to kill Yagura, the Mizukage." Meizu answered, her head hung low in shame. Naruto sat dumbly, staring at the two for a while.

"Why would you two do that?" He asked them. Gozu sighed in defeat.

"It wasn't just us. We had another two people with us. We wanted put an end to the massacres Yagura was committing." The one-horned sister said, wearily. Naruto got comfortable, and undid the bindings on the two kunoichi.

Answering their surprise, Naruto waved his hand.

"Don't worry about it. I trust you guys enough now. I thought it might've been uncomfortable with those chains… Anyway, what did Yagura do?" He asked the Demon Sisters. They both stretched their aching limbs, and still sat calmly, despite the open chance to take their target.

"The Mizukage was killing off any ninja who belonged to a clan. She was effectively eliminating all clan bloodlines." Meizu answered for her sister, having become much more calm.

"And… You guys failed?" The Jinchuuriki asked the two. Two nods were his received response.

"So… Why are you out here, in the first place?" At his lines of questioning, Sakura and Satsuki had become more and more agitated, having resorted to scouting the area around them whilst Kazumi remained with Tazuna.

"We were originally sent out to kill him." Gozu said, pointing to the bridge-builder, who closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands. Naruto became more curious at this.

"I promise I'll stop soon, but why?" He asked them further, with all the curiosity of a little child opening their Christmas presents.

"For a crime boss. He doesn't want this guy here building any bridges. He says he wants to keep all trade routes to their little village to himself and his henchmen. We're working for him to save up enough money for equipment." Meizu explained for her sister, her agitation growing back up as Naruto continued to ask questions.

"Okay… Why do you guys need equipment?" Naruto asked them, finally.

"So we can prepare to strike at Yagura again." Meizu explained, taking her mask off. Gozu followed suit, and Naruto stood up, holding his hands out for the two to get up. There was silence as Naruto tried to piece his thoughts together, simultaneously stifling a blush at the two beautiful women hidden underneath their intimidating masks.

"Okay, I think I can make sense of the rest now…" He said. Kazumi stood behind her student and stared evenly at the famed Demon Sisters.

"So, what'll it be for you two?" She asked. Gozu and Meizu looked to one another, to Tazuna, to Naruto, then back to Kazumi.

"We'll lead your team to our leader." Gozu answered for her and her sister simply. Naruto smiled at the two, a cheeky, foxy grin he'd been working on since he'd been born.

"Yay, we're making friends!" He jostled them both, receiving two equally hard death stares which eventually turned away from him. After they made sure he wasn't looking, however, Gozu and Meizu couldn't help but give smile, slyly.

Kazumi stretched, putting her book back away, and cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Team 7, on me!" She yelled out, gathering her wandering genin back in seconds. The group took off, following Gozu and Meizu tightly. The last of the Naruto clones had given the original the Sister's items, for safekeeping.

Kazumi turned to her students, and a cowering Tazuna.

"Our mission has just turned into something higher-ranked. Possibly even higher than I'm imagining." She noted them, given the facts Naruto had successfully pried from the two sisters. She turned her gaze to the bridge-builder and exhaled harshly.

"And you have some explaining to do when we arrive at wherever we're headed." Kazumi notified her client, who nodded sombrely. At this, Satsuki put her hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"As do you." The raven of a beauty said to him, grimly. Fear grew in Naruto's heart as the group set off the hideout of the unknown mercenary leader.

* * *

A/N: Haha. Yeah, no, but seriously, if you could check out that thing at the top of the page, I'd be very happy.


	4. Chapter 4: B-but, NOTHING CHANGED

(…)

"Zetsu… Where is Deidara?" A sickly voice called. It watched over a yearly, covert meeting between the members of the Akatsuki.

"**She was…** Captured."

"…This will not do."

"**Mistress?"**

"Seek her out, and kill her. She might have revealed too much." A devious, evil grin splayed on Zetsu's black half.

(?)

Satsuki yanked Naruto aside, as the ninja group and their client settled into the lair of Zabuza Momochi. Their host had yet to arrive, and Kazumi and the bubbly kunoichi Sakura remained neutral and tense, each eyeing up their escorts, the Demon Sisters.

The sisters slumped down in chairs that surrounded a central fire pit, and sighed.

"Oh yeah, she probably won't be here for a while, so you know, make yourselves comfortable." Gozu mumbled, reclining in her chair and groaning at an ache in her back. Kazumi carefully cradled a scroll which held the Sister's gauntlets in her left hand, unseen.

Outside, Satsuki gave Naruto an unbroken, cold, judging stare.

"What the hell were you thinking?" She asked him after several seconds of hard silence. Naruto levelled an equally daring gaze back at the Uchiha woman.

"What do you mean?" The blonde asked in an offended tone. Satsuki had never acted like this. It sounded like she doubted his abilities.

"You disobeyed an order." Satsuki pointed out, kind of like how her mother used to when she'd go running off on family picnics to play in the most dangerous parts of the forest…

'_No. This is serious. He could've gotten himself killed… Or worse, captured…'_ She had no doubt of Naruto's abilities. But this was always how it was. The majority of shinobi couldn't stand up to the likes of a mildly experienced kunoichi.

That was it, genetics couldn't allow for a shinobi to surpass the common kunoichi. Even a descendant from a powerful clan had to struggle to reach Chunin, and Jounin was a pipe dream for most ninja men.

The fact that his father had even become Hokage was nothing short of a miracle.

"If this was about Tazuna's safety, I covered him with clones. You know me; you know my limits, Satsuki. They could've created diversions and pulled him to safety if we needed to-" The Uchicha raven held a hand up to stop his words.

"I really don't give a shit about that drunk, Naruto. I was worried about your safety – you could've gotten yourself killed!" Satsuki yelled at him, pointing a finger at his chest. Naruto looked taken aback, and scoffed.

"Are you kidding me? I'm not some goddamn child, Satsuki! I can hold my own!" Naruto yelled back at her, deeply offended by the comment at his skill and sense of _survival_, of all things. Satsuki huffed quietly and breathed, calming herself.

"It's not just about- I… Damn it, Naruto. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, I'm just…" She didn't change her tall, dominative stance, but her shoulders softened. Naruto quirked his head and gave Satsuki a confused stare.

"There's gotta be more than that to it, right? I mean, there's caring for your teammate, then there's…" Before he could go on again, Satsuki cleared her throat.

"Please, just… I care about you, Naruto. I… I love you, alright?" She said falteringly, then proudly. She was a Uchiha, damn it! Uchiha didn't stutter and carry on like the Hyuuga! They saw what they want, and got it!

…Within the reasonable confines of not stealing a boyfriend away from one of her best friends.

Naruto stood, motionless, eyes unblinking.

'_Shit.'_

He could see it in her jet-black, crystalline eyes. There was no mistaking what kind of "love" she meant. Not the brother-sister type love, not even the cousin-type of love, if there were such a thing.

She clearly meant that she, Satsuki Uchiha, had romantic feelings towards him, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze.

'_Shiiiit.'_

"Don't say anything…" She began.

'_Oh thank God.'_

"But… Ever since… I don't know. I guess ever since you and Hinata started dating, it's made me realise that… I… I love you, Naruto. And I want to be with you…" She went, looking down to the ground momentarily, shaking her head.

The blonde Jinchuuriki placed a hand on her shoulder, and drew her into a hug.

"I… I don't know what to say, Satsuki…"

"Then… Tell me – do you like me, Naruto?" The boy gulped, and his heart rate grew dangerously high, even for a Jinchuuriki.

"N-no, Satsuki. I love you. B-but…"

"Then that's settled. It doesn't matter what happens now, but… When we get back to Konoha, I'll… Hinata and I will have a talk."

"A talk?"

"A talk, Naruto. Now… Just remember – you aren't invincible. I don't want you getting hurt."

The Jinchuuriki sighed to himself, and hugged Satsuki tightly.

"Yeah, yeah, I understand…"

(Some time later…)

A set of heavy, and a set of light footsteps approached in a thick cloud of mist.

"Gozu? Meizu? Are you two close?" A deep, throaty voice whispered into the mist, her chakra augmenting her voice and sending it through the heavy fog.

"We've got some visitors, Zabuza. Just a heads-up." Gozu responded. The woman nodded to herself and Haku, and opened the door to her hidden hideout.

And as soon as that happened, a fight broke out.

Standing amongst the people in her not-so-hidden hideout were Kazumi Hatake – the copycat ninja, and some of students of hers. From the looks of it - some angry looking kunoichi, and a weak shinobi, sharpening their own weapons with the same enthusiasm as a horny teenager masturbating.

Zabuza threw her massive sword at the group, and attempted to quickly shimmy to the blade's place to surprise attack the shinobi first.

She needed to remove the weakest of their group first, even if just to prevent any possible annoyances during combat.

Naruto was prepared, and with Sakura and Satsuki, took out Zabuza's legs. The woman had no time to react as the trio slammed her head back into the flat of the blade. In mid-air, she struggled, but eventually kicked off the sword and leapt back to Haku's side.

"What are you doing here, Kazumi!? You shouldn't be poking around in Kirigakure's business!" The scorned swordswoman scalded the elite ninja. Kazumi deposited her reading material and stood up calmly, her opponent's blade just inches away from her mask.

"I'm poking around because your two friends have told me about your plans." Kazumi remained calm, and impassive.

"Gozu, Meizu! How could you!?" Haku yelled to the two, scornfully.

"They've offered to hear us out, Haku." Gozu answered back.

"Bullshit. They've played you for fools. They probably used their only man in their team as bait for you two!" Zabuza yelled to the Demon Sisters, waving an arm in Naruto's direction. The boy inwardly flared with anger.

Gozu and Meizu were taken aback.

"No… They've…" Meizu's blood began to boil as she darted a dangerous glance to the blonde boy.

"You can't seriously think I'm bait here! I'm a shinobi, not some manwhore!" Naruto scoffed at the two women, feeling quite offended at the insinuation.

"Konoha breeds the best lookers, Kiri breeds the best fighters. It's just a fact." Zabuza smiled when she saw the bubbling reaction she'd made in the boy.

"Shut up." Naruto warned the woman. Sakura placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder in an attempt to calm him.

"The only reason they have a male Kage is so he can seduce the other Kage when Konoha sees fit!"

'_**Calm yourself, idiot! She's trying to bait you into attack her!'**_ The Kyuubi's claims fell on deaf ears.

"I bet if Kiri attempted an attack right now, even we could beat their excuse for a Kage into the grou-" Naruto flashed in front of the swordless swordswoman and slammed his balled fist into her chest, as hard as he possibly could.

He shattered three of his knuckles doing so, but snapped one or two of Zabuza's ribs. Ignoring the warnings from the Nine Tailed Fox, he ducked low and avoided any senbon Haku attempted to stab him with.

"Sakura, Satsuki – take on the other one! Sensei, help me with her!" He yelled, avoiding every strike thrown at him.

The three nodded, and the Demon Sisters sat in idle shock as the Konoha ninja went on the offensive. Haku separated from Zabuza, and began to trap Satsuki and Sakura within an Ice Dome.

(…)

"We're not trying to fight you! Your stupid boss just wouldn't stop teasing Naruto!" Sakura tried to reason with the Kiri scion. She gritted her teeth and empowered her mirrors with her bloodline chakra.

"She is NOT stupid! And you should keep your damned dog on a leash!" At this, the Uchiha kunoichi launched a furious kick towards one of the mirrors, shattering it violently.

"She is idiotic! And don't you dare call him that!" In retaliation, Haku sent volley after volley of deadly senbon needles towards the girls, keeping them on their toes.

For every mirror they'd smash, they'd miss her.

But they were wearing the Ice user down.

(…)

"You've got a strong punch, you little bastard." Zabuza ripped her sword out from the remains of her lair, and gave a downwards swing to an unmoving Naruto. She smiled crazily as her blade made contact with the boy's body.

A poof of smoke later, her smile turned into a furious grimace, and she felt another blunt force collide with her back.

"Thanks. I got it from my pa!" He then followed Zabuza's tumbling path, only to stop when she evaporated into a large puddle of water.

"Watch out, Naruto! Flip to left!" Kazumi then charged at Zabuza with a half-formed ball of lightning, with the intent to disable her opponent.

Zabuza was misleadingly fast. As Naruto shifted his feet in the seconds he heard Kazumi speak, the swordswoman gripped him by his collar and threw him away, smashing him into the ground behind her.

The jounin slammed her balled lightning into the Kiri kunoichi's side, and balked when she too, evaporated into another puddle. Her heart stopped as she saw Zabuza's sword plunge through Naruto's chest.

(…)

Time slowed down.

Burning rage filled the Jinchuuriki, and his inner beast brought him into contact.

"**So you've failed."**

"Don't…"

"**Your friends will die at the hands of an emotionally damaged teenager, and your sensei will too, by the hands of a half-baked revolutionary."**

"I know I've failed! I'm going to die, and my friends are too, because I…"

"**Shut up, Naruto." **The boy looked up at the disinterested Tailed Beast.

"**Your father would always gripe on about the "Will of Fire", whatever the hell that might've been."**

"It's the Will of the protectors of Konoha… If you have it, you protect your loved ones with anything you've got…"

"**That's about right."**

"So what? I'm dead – I can't protect them anymore!" He bit back. The Kyuubi flashed an image of the fight before his consciousness.

"**You haven't used everything in your arsenal, and the last time I checked, you've got an immortal chakra Beast residing within you."**

"Wait… What do you mean?"

"**I'll break it down for your simple mind – Number one, I'm going to melt that stupid blade of hers and fuse the metal within your body to keep you from dying. My stationary chakra should do the rest."**

"And?"

"**And… If I hear one complaint out of this next proposition, I get to hit you."**

"…Deal." Well, the Kyuubi did just grant him resurrection.

"**Use your charm. You are not strong enough to fight them on your own, yet."**

Naruto bit his incorporeal lip until it drew incorporeal blood, to bite back his complaints.

"Isn't that just proving to those women that they were right about me?"

"**Yes, yes it is. But if you use it for a good cause, the ends will justify the means."** Naruto stood in silence, deliberating on the notion for moments.

"**Or you could sit here and let you and your friends be murdered in cold blood. The choice is yours."** And the chakra Beast left him, slowly bringing him back into reality.

(…)

With a sharp breath, he grimaced as the iron of the broadsword melted, and fused into his muscles. The front of the blade was absorbed into his body, and the back of the blade snapped off at his back, allowing Naruto's severed spine to reform easier.

After only ten seconds, much to the shock of all the fighters fighting, Naruto was reborn, and ready to kick ass.

'_**Remember – make it so the ends justify the means.'**_

'…_I'll aim for the best-case scenario, then.'_

'_**Attaboy, as they say.'**_

"What the fuck!? I killed you!" Zabuza yelled in astonishment. The blonde smiled, and took the situation to his advantage.

"Oh, that? Please, I chew nails for breakfast and shit out barbed wire." Naruto remarked, making Sakura giggle. Zabuza grimaced and spat on the ground.

"Alright then, I'll just have to shove my sword up your ass!" A yell came before she leapt for the sword, dodging to go behind the boy.

She gave it a heavy swing, and cried out in annoyance as Naruto poofed into smoke once more. He leapt out through the thick smoke and mist, and launched a heavy, furious kick into Zabuza's sternum, knocking the wind out of her lungs.

She fell backwards, and was quickly pinned down by four shadow clones. The swordswoman struggled, but the sheer weight of the Naruto copies proved to be too much.

"You little bastard! Let me go, NOW!" Who she assumed was the real Naruto appeared at her feet, standing over her.

"I won't be letting you go. Not until you hear me out." He said firmly, watching over Sakura and Satsuki as they pinned Haku down with Kazumi's help. The Demon Sisters were prepared to attack, but were halted when Naruto held out a hand to the girls.

"Calm down. Zabuza, right?"

"What's it to you, you little shit?" She bit back at him. The blonde shook his head.

"This has been a huge misunderstanding. I am not, nor will I ever be, a cute face to look at! I am a shinobi!" He cleared up first, hearing nothing but a scoff from the pinned down woman.

"And we _were_ talking peacefully with your two charges here, until you showed up."

"They were caught in _your_ act! Konoha shinobi are nothing but swindlers and pervs!" Naruto bit his already bloody lip again, and sighed through gritted teeth.

"Then no matter what I do, I can't convince you to stop doing what you're doing." The blonde boy said, simply.

"Naruto… What are you doing?" Satsuki asked him quietly, after tying up the struggling Haku. He sighed lowly, and stared down at the ground.

"I'm not proud of this, but it has to be done…" Naruto formed a handseal, and a series of golden chakra strings coursed through his veins – primarily coursing around his throat.

(Konoha)

Minato grumbled as he stared out to his village tiredly. Taking a sip of tea, he didn't inch his head to his right as he heard his office door creak open.

"Hey." The Hokage smiled to his wife, as she sat down on his lap and kissed him deeply.

"Hey there." He greeted back, his grin showing some tiredness and… something else.

"What's wrong?"

"I've received a preliminary report from Team 7's first C-rank mission." Kushina grew worried at this, and stared deeply into her husband's eyes.

"Minato – are they okay?" The blonde shifted in his seat, and grabbed the report from his desk.

"They're fine, they're fine. The mission went well. They just encountered some… Trouble, in their beginning." Kushina took the report and read it eagerly, resting her head on Minato's shoulders.

The Uzumaki woman blushed thoroughly when she saw the report in full, and continued reading on with utmost interest.

Minutes passed, and she put the folder down. She took a deep breath.

"What aren't you telling me?" Minato shifted in his seat again, and giggled childishly.

"…I might have to take a trip to Kiri… Just to make sure we have everything set in writing." Kushina read over the report once more, and whistled low, wincing slightly.

"Hinata's going to freak."

* * *

A/N: Okay… Sorry to leave it there, but there's the next chapter.

I've gotten work, and it's not fun.

The next chapter will feature some non-linear, storyline jumping lemons.


	5. Chapter 5: pls complain some more

A/N: I'm considering changing up the title of the story. I've got some more, different stuff planned to put in here, and I think that "Everything Went Better than Expected" doesn't quite fit this story anymore.

And, yeah – porn in this chapter.

* * *

(…)

"OH FUCK! YES, MORE NARUTO!" Many chorused. Naruto's technique for the negotiation was simple, but what followed was something even the devious blonde couldn't have predicted.

Blood clones were great things to have around. They had the ability to split a persons' consciousness up into multiple pieces, allowing one (strong) user to feel and see many different things, from different angles.

In a sense, blood clones were perfect for reconnaissance. However, they had many other uses.

Each woman gathered in Tazuna's house had their own blood clone of Naruto, relaying together and allowing _the_ Naruto, wherever he was, to feel a magnified, multiplied pleasure.

He and Sakura were bound at the hip, the medic kunoichi using her skills to enlarge her breasts, like Tsunade had taught her. The blonde had eagerly latched onto her large nipples and sucked endlessly, playing with the overly sensitive mounds of flesh like the perverted teen he was. The pink-haired kunoichi mewled at Naruto's tiny bites, as if the boy was making his mark on her.

She had trouble wiping the lecherous grin off her face, and concentrated hard enough to focus some green medical chakra around her hands. She cupped Naruto's cheeks, and softly fingered his puckered backdoor.

The foxy boy was taken aback, but never relented in his thrusts and nibbles to the girl's dirt-marred, creamy skin. Having just come back from an impromptu training session, all ninja gathered were razzed up and horny as hell.

He had moved his mouth to the nape of her neck, where he'd finally mark her as his. As her deft fingers reached to probe the boy's prostate, he grunted in pure pleasure, trying his best to hold back until they'd reach their climax together.

The Jinchuuriki bit softly into Sakura's skin, and fed his own brilliantly blue chakra into the wound, before licking it healed. As the rush filled the medic's body, she screamed out in orgasm and shuddered over the boy's cock, his ministrations proving more than enough for her. He growled and groaned at the tightness of her pussy, her muscles convulsing and constricting his length.

"Na… Na… Feels soooo goood…" She mumbled as Naruto pulled himself out of her. He lined his cock up with her back door, lifting her back off the cold ground, and prodded inwards, teasingly.

With a smile, they took each other's lips in a tender, hot kiss, and went at it again and again.

"Love you." He confessed to her, rubbing his nose onto hers softly. She bit her bottom lip and smiled, with a marred blush on her cheeks. Her fingers danced across his sensitive whiskers, and she sucked on his bottom lip, ever so gently.

"I love you too, Narutoooo…" He thrust himself as deep as he could inside her, and revelled in the pleasure of the woman's tight hole. She held onto his back, digging her short nails into his tough flesh. Her toes curled as he filled her other hole, unable to wipe the loving, lust-crazed smile off her face.

Truly, she did love him, ever since she'd first met him.

As kids, they were like brother and sister, playing when they could, and even pretending to train, to become real ninja.

Then, when puberty hit their age group like a steamrolling hell-train, that love evolved. Infatuation mixed in with her sibling love, and for the longest time, she felt conflicted. For the first time in her life, Sakura felt _unsure_ about something.

However, after his inspiring and world-changing speech to Zabuza and Haku, with his words of wisdom, that evolved further into true love.

Of that much, Sakura was absolutely sure. And, of that much – her new boyfriend was sure.

(…)

Another Naruto was at the mercy of his teacher, who was enjoying herself way too much. The blonde teen knelt between the jounin's legs, and eagerly lapped the juices of his lover, as if he were a drought-ridden pilgrim, drinking from the Oasis of Life itself.

His tongue probed her inner depths – where she'd never let anyone else in before. Her back was pressed against a wall of Tazuna's home, steadying the kunoichi as the boy-turned man of her dreams pleasured her, eagerly.

A small smile came to her lips at that thought. Yes, Kazumi had a crush on Naruto. It had only been a year or so since she'd stopped seeing the boy as a little brother, and more as a viable romantic companion.

Yes, it'd been creepy. She realised the effects of what her affection could do, and what it looked like to others. That was why she kept her mouth shut and her affections null around Minato and Kushina. Hell, if her sensei knew she wanted to make love to his son…

Minato would be just a little angry. Kushina would be slightly angrier.

Kazumi shivered, both in great pleasure, and in abstract horror at what the red-headed kunoichi might've done to her. Her fears were cast aside as she knocked the Naruto blood clone on his back, and thrust herself downwards, sliding his cock into her wanting, dripping pussy.

"Aahhh~! So gooood, Rutooooo~!" She sung, guiding the boy's hands to her athletic breasts. He moaned, deeply, and latched his lips to hers, smooching the jounin sensei with all of his tonguing might.

She traced her tongue around his long canines and squealed as the young man pinched her nipples lightly. Kazumi pulled her tongue out of the boys mouth and smiled at him.

For a few seconds, he was caught in her beauty. There was a reason Kazumi wore her mask – and it was to deter any potential suitors. After a minute of gawking, and solid fucking, Naruto smiled at his sensei and moved his hands towards the jounin's tight ass, kneading her flesh softly.

She went back for another kiss, and rode out another until orgasm set her body on fire.

"Who's my good little student? Who's going to fuck his teacher like a good boy?" She teased him, as he hugged her tightly. Naruto smiled, and growled, baring his canines.

"I am!" And he latched his teeth into the nape of Kazumi's neck, nearly making the jounin black out from pleasure. They stopped, and held each other for a while, Kazumi whining and begging for more, as she began to nibble on his collarbone in response to the boy's mark.

Naruto smiled, and began thrusting again. Kazumi's entire body shivered and quivered in orgasmic bliss as she felt he lover's seed escape her tight hole.

"L-Love you, sensei…" Naruto whispered in her ear. If she could've spoken, she would've replied the same. With her ability to form words gone, she kept her arms tied around the young man she'd been claimed by, and continued on fucking him.

After his speech to Zabuza, Kazumi truly saw the kind of man her little-brother figure had become. Feelings were brought up, and passion reigned once the group found privacy. It seems that Kazumi was not the only one to have had feelings for her new lover.

(…)

The Sisters Demon, Gozu and Meizu, had their heads resting on either sister's shoulder, looking up towards two Naruto clones, who, with great gusto, were making love to them.

They had only met the boy a few days ago, but, were quickly smitten with him, even after the initial scrap with Zabuza. His words, as complex and detailed as they were, struck a chord with each sister. Gozu had found his reasoning, and strength reassuring, and endearing, whilst Meizu had found Naruto's sheer bravery to be his most attractive point.

Feelings like these escalated, and the girls had even grown on the blonde Jinchuuriki. Both clones smiled to their sister, and locked lips, simultaneously.

"F-fuck us, you blonde babe!" Meizu cried, arching her back upwards in a toe-curling jolt of pleasure. The Narutos complied, pumping each sister full of their thick, hot seed, reaching a combined, perfectly timed, 4-way orgasm that left the foursome in a pleasurable aftershock.

The Narutos flipped their new lovers over, and took them from behind. Gozu and Meizu both squealed at the fresh sensation, and quivered around their respective man's cock, in quiet anticipation for their next orgasm.

Each Naruto bent over to whisper in his current lover's ear.

"Do you see my cum on Meizu's face? Doesn't it look _tasty_?" He edged Gozu on, who was lost in fleshy ecstasy as her Naruto had begun to grope her tits. She nodded, and licked up the sticky seed which marred her sister's face.

Meizu whined, and her Naruto leant over, with a lecherous grin on his face.

"She's stealing all of my delicious goo, Meizu! Why don't you take some from her tongue?" Truly, he was showing his greatly perverted side now. Though this didn't breach the level of depravity he and Hinata practiced with. The shaggy-haired sister took Gozu's tongue in a twist, and kissed passionately, deeply shocking her sister.

Both Naruto's growled appreciatively, at the unbelievably arousing sight, and doubled their efforts. Soon, all four were reaching climax again, with the sister's still locked in tongues. Both Narutos exploded forth, their balls churning and minds almost shattering from their combined orgasm.

Meizu and Gozu moaned into each other's mouths as the clones pulled out their cocks, and finished spraying heavy ropes of cum onto each of their backs. The sisters broke their hot kiss, and collapsed on the ground, panting and heaving heavily, with their own Naruto kissing down their neck, tenderly.

"Oh, good gooooooo…" Meizu mumbled, letting a squeak out as the blonde began massaging her back. The tired, unmasked kunoichi wrapped one of Naruto's wandering hands around her waist, and sighed in utter contentment.

"More… More, you fuckin' stud!" Gozu cried, as she flipped herself on her back, and jumped her Naruto.

(…)

Satsuki held her hands firmly on her lover's chest, imploring him to stay down. She straddled him, bouncing on his lap domineeringly. Truly, in Naruto's eyes, she looked like a raven-haired goddess, with luscious, large breasts that bounced beautifully with every animalistic slap of flesh that sounded across the guest room.

She bit down on her bottom lip, and blushed as she stared on at the blonde Jinchuuriki, putting on quite the act for him. Naruto resisted her holding touch, and lurched upwards to kiss her, lovingly. The Uchiha clan member smiled into the kiss, and engaged him in a hug. She never relented in her bounces, and the added sensation of her nipples rubbing up against her boyfriend's flesh served to drive her madder and madder.

Yes, things had become official. Well, as much as sex could be considered "official", anyway. Satsuki was awash in a sea of pleasure and orgasmic bliss, and resigned herself to deal with the backlash from Hinata when Hinata tried to lash out against her.

Whenever that would be.

But, for now, she pushed Naruto back down to the wooden floor and rode him for all he was worth, deliberately slowing her humps down to feel his member grind against her impossibly hot sex. Naruto's breath hitched, and she grinned lustfully, loving that she was in control.

Minutes passed, and both parties were quickly reaching their inevitable climax.

"Th-that's it, Naruto… Cum for me!" And so he did, exploding his seed within his new girlfriend's womb, with an animalistic growl.

(…)

Haku had her face pressed into the ground, and had her arms held back. Her kimono, tattered beyond belief after their training session, was flipped over back, revealing the white panties that were quickly torn apart by the Naruto that was currently servicing her.

He thrust in, as deep as he could, and held back the Ice-users arms so that he could delve into her depths even deeper. Haku's moans were muffled by the cold, hard floor, and if she had the brain power, she would've smiled in ahe gao.

Naruto's soft grunts and absolutely domineering techinques were poking at all her weak spots – teasing her every now and then in every which place, driving the poor girl beyond insane as she lazily attempted to thrust her perfect, snow white rear back on the boy's cock.

As he pulled out of her tight asshole, Naruto flipped the stamina-lacking Haku on her back, and tore open the remains of her tattered kimono, revealing her plump, perfect breasts. He gave her a foxy grin, and slid his thick, juice-slicked meat in between the woman's tits, pinching her nipples as she held them together, and sucking on the boy's tip.

She cleaned Naruto's second head with her tongue, skilfully, and moaned gutturally as more seed exploded on her face. The Yuki clan member swallowed what she could and scooped the rest of her lover's virile semen up with her fingers, before tasting that batch, as well.

The blonde boy grinned at the sight, and went back on his way to dominating his newly found lover.

Yes, lover. Haku recounted the events up to this point, despite not being able to speak properly at this moment in time, and had listened to Naruto's words. As touching and as heartfelt as they were, he made her and her leader see the light – that a male ninja could in fact, do great things.

So moving were his words, and as she witnessed the young man train to protect his new client, that a fire started in her heart. Love had budded when they met, whether she knew it or not, and love had grown and grown amidst their days spent protecting the bridge builders.

Believe it or not, Zabuza had faith that the group could have taken on the current Mizukage, Yagura.

Speaking of Zabuza...

(…)

The battle-worn, and experienced woman held her arms locked tight around Naruto's neck, and hung off him as he thrust into her gushing pussy. Several orgasms had rocked this particular pairing, and they showed no signs of slowing down.

The blonde boy smashed his lips into hers and moved one hand to expertly fondle the woman's brilliantly bountiful boobs, playing with the tender flesh like a teen might. She groaned and mewled into her lover's grasp and thrusts, and broke away to catch her breath, lolling her head back before she met Naruto's gaze once more.

"Y'know… For a little revolutionary, you sure do have spunk!" She teased him, before using a minor heated water technique to deftly massage the man's balls. Their love-making had turned into a game, or competition of sorts.

At her tender actions, Naruto broke and came again, filling the woman's pussy up with his nigh-infinite amount of seed. He chuckled, and stood up straight, before tackling Zabuza to the ground, and lifting the woman's thick, curvy legs up in the air.

"One round to you, but I'm gonna win, Zabuza!" He boasted, with a loving smile, and a foxy wink. The woman was taken aback, but smiled at him, and brought the boy down for another kiss.

Yes, she couldn't really call it love – she'd only known the boy for about a week now. But she knew that her feelings had grown beyond what she could've comprehended. The swordswoman of the Mist had never before known quite how much a male ninja, a shinobi, could be determined to achieve their goals.

That was, until the boy changed her world view with his golden words, and his silken, silver tongue. The entire group, the Demon Sisters included, had decided to band together in order to help the Konoha group in their mission.

And, Zabuza was even planning on asking the group to help her storm Kirigakure and save the village from Yagura's tyrannical reign.

All in due time, however.

(…)

"So… That's a fantastic story and all, but I'm more interested in this speech you gave the group…" Minato implored his son, holding a fully signed peace treaty between Konohagakure and Kirigakure, sitting atop his own head on the Hokage Monument, overlooking his city.

Naruto looked around the town, and back down towards the steep cliffside of the Monument.

"You know… I've completely forgotten what I said. It's not really important, anyway." Naruto shrugged, taking a breath to continue his story. Minato held a hand up, with a disapproving look.

"So you're going to keep telling me about this orgy you were involved in." The Hokage asked in a deadpan manner. Naruto's face went red, and he stammered out a response.

"I-I-It's not like I'm looking for a high-five or anything Da-!" Minato's "take no shit" stare bore into his son's very soul. Naruto sighed, and let his shoulders slump.

"…Okay, maybe I am looking for a high-five." Minato stared on at his son in sheer silence for a good five minutes, Naruto holding his lone hand up. The blonde Hokage relented and smiled, slapping his son's hand.

"Yeah, okay, no, that was pretty radical. I hope you're going to attempt to keep in touch with these women, Naruto…"

"Of course, dad. I've almost perfected the Flying Thunder God Technique." Naruto declared proudly. Minato smiled with a similar amount of smugness, and patted his son on the back.

"That's good to hear, Naruto." The two sat in silence, enjoying the view of the bustling, sun-set city. A question stirred on the young boy's mind.

"Hey, dad?"

"Yeah?"

"How did you come up with that technique, anyway?" At this question, Minato became visibly uneasy, and cleared his throat.

"I… I'll tell you about it tomorrow, boy. Now – how'd you get to Kirigakure?" Naruto took his father's hint, and resigned to himself that "tomorrow" probably meant never. His father had been involved in some horrible things, and the young Namikaze didn't want to delve down deeper into his father's psyche, just yet.

"Well… It was pretty simple, actually."

(…)

Team 7, gathered in full, alongside Zabuza and her troupe, had scared away Gato's thugs, with a simple little genjutsu from Kazumi's hidden eye. Sent running, the diminutive crime boss was easily captured by the vindictive swordswoman. She yanked him up by his collar, and took a deep breath.

"Now… You're going to provide us a covert way into Kirigakure. And you're going to give everything you own to our group." It was no request, no question. The comparatively impish man had nothing to say, but a squeak of approval.

"…Shouldn't we be giving his fortune back to the people he extorted it from?" Asked Sakura. A dangerous, knowing glint appeared in both the swordswoman and the copy-kunoichi's eyes.

"Well, think of it this way, Sakura: Tazuna only paid for a C-rank mission. I'd say we've done a lot more than simply protect him, and we're going to continue to do more work, for C-rank pay..." Kazumi reasoned, pilfering items that the horrified thugs left behind. Several Naruto clones soon joined her in scavenging bits and pieces of equipment.

Sakura gave her sensei a lasting, evaluating stare. Narrowed eyes met a single, unimpressed one.

"…I see your point." And with that, the blonde clones jumped for joy.

"Yeah! Payment!"

Gato led the ninja group back to his hideout, a mansion hidden amidst the tall trees of Water Country. He surrendered his wealth without question or resistance – knowing full well the might of the kunoichi and shinobi before him. His mercenary force had fled, and he was all but screwed, it seemed.

After giving the domineering dominatrix what she wanted, Gato was kicked out on his ass back to the island village which he'd been extorting and toying with…

A little boy stood up, and threw a rock at the man.

"Git him!"

(…)

"So you freed a village from their servitude to a corrupt crime boss… And you gave them the backbone to do it again if someone else tries to take advantage of them." Minato relayed, much like a teacher would. Naruto smiled and leant back, throwing his head down on the ground to stare up at the sky.

"That was Satsuki's idea."

"That's good. And I'm sure you left some extra help for them, just in case something bad might happen…" Minato edged his son on teasingly. The blonde boy relented, and sighed.

"Of course, pops! Whilst no one was looking, I etched a storage seal into a boulder in their village! It has a sensor array attached to it, so when somebody walks near the place with a _little_ too much chakra, or a disturbance occurs in the natural chakra of the environment, I'll be notified!" Naruto declared, holding the seal's buddy seal, scribed onto a parchment of paper.

Minato nodded, and smiled at his son.

"Storage seal?"

"Yep! It holds about 1000 stored shadow clones, led by about 5 blood clones. I also periodically let one shadow clone out every day to scout the area around the village now."

"And if that supply diminishes…"

"By then, I hope I've gotten your technique down, dad." Then the father and son laughed.

"So, you're group found their way into Kirigakure, and you ended up following Zabuza's original plan?" At this, the Jinchuuriki's face cringed, and he averted his gaze away from his father.

"We easily got to the Mizukage's office, but…"

(…)

"Hnnn! Meizu – get your fat ass out of my face!" Satsuki whined indignantly as the group made their way through an overstuffed, stuffy air shute. The Demon Sister readjusted her helmet and kicked the Uchiha in the chest.

"I'm Gozu, you idiot! And that's Zabuza's fat fuckin' ass!"

"What? Gozu – if you're there, then who has their face buried in my crotch?" Meizu shivered at the unknown intruder.

"I told you idiots 3 times already! My name is Mei Terumi – and I'm trying to kill the current Mizukage!"

(…)

"Wait, wait, wait – hold the fuck up for a second here…" Minato said with a small giggle.

"You found the leader of the Kiri resistance, and her two bodyguards stuffed in an airshaft alongside your team?"

"Yeah. Apparently our schedules synced up or something."

"And they weren't immediately hostile to you?"

"They had no choice. They couldn't reach for any weapons. So, we eventually talked, and it turned out that Zabuza's blueprints were out of date."

"So what'd you do?"

"Well, luckily, they had a know-it-all on their side!"

(…)

"Um… We just have to head 13 metres south of here, and we'll find the Mizukage's Office! Yagura should be sleeping in her chambers, or at her desk, so she'll be an easy target!" Chojuro led the group through the sooty, tiny shafts used for ventilation.

The building, thank god above, was built in the centre of Kirigakure, used to both house the Mizukage, and to keep the populace under an iron rule with its sheer height.

As the group's oxygen supply depleted further and further, even through only 13 metres of metal tunnels, things became ridiculous, and loud.

"Gah! Do you people ever bathe? It smells like an old woman's bathhouse in here!" Ao complained, being smashed against the walls of the airshaft not a second afterwards.

"Nn-N! Nnnn-" Haku tried to speak, in spite of a gag made from someone's leg flesh.

"EVERYBODY JUST BREATHE!" Kazumi shouted, feeling a little claustrophobic.

The entire shaft breathed, and it expanded outwards…

(…)

"Then what happened?" Minato asked, interested more and more.

"I'm trying to tell ya! Just quit interrupting me!"

(…)

The young Mizukage sipped from her tea, quietly, ignoring the screams of suffering that were permeating literally beneath her. Inside her mind, she fought, but on the outside, she appeared as a calm, level, 19 year old.

Then, she heard a croak in the airshaft of her building's ventilation system. The noise was incredibly loud – even if you weren't a Kage who'd trained themselves to ignore baser senses to enhance others temporarily – only with a flex with a muscle.

Then, they got closer to her, banging around in her walls as if they were making rabid, ravenous love.

She set her cup down, and sat upwards, before flexing her muscles and stretching her locked limbs, preparing for battle.

"What the HEEEEEEELL!" The group yelled as they burst out of the walls, shattering any concrete construct in their way.

Yagura sighed.

"If you have any words before I end you all, then speak, please." The being controlling Yagura enjoyed the situation, and laughed on in the presence of the male they'd sent with the assassination group.

"Then… May I say what beautiful eyes you have, my Mizukage…" Naruto pretended, clearly putting on an act.

(…)

"Hah! That's ridiculous! Did she seriously fall for that?" Minato broke into fits of laughter, and held onto his aching ribs as he fell back, matching his son's posture.

Naruto chuckled, and shook his head.

"No, but it did buy me time. The woman with the eyepatch found out that Yagura was actually being controlled by somebody!" Naruto explained, with a leap in his heart as he recounted the tale. Minato's interest also perked up.

"Huh? How'd she get that?"

"She had a Byakugan she'd… stolen, from a previous encounter with Konoha ninja…"

"How did you figure THAT out?"

"I… Uh… I…" Minato's gaze went dark as his eyes bored into the back of his son's skull.

"Don't tell me you had sex with a 40 year old woman, Naruto." He said, darkly.

"I didn't! We just… She just kissed me, and we talked. I talk, dad – that's what I do!"

"And you also charm kunoichi, even though you say it's against your code!"

"It is against my code! And I'm not charming them! I'm simply telling them why male ninja shouldn't be counted out of the fight!"

"Hm… You're off the hook. But don't forget why you do what you do, son."

"I know, dad."

"So… What happened after that?"

"Well, a huge fight started. I relayed my chakra to Haku's, and imbued it so she could form and sustain a massive Ice Dome." He explained, using vivid hand gestures. Minato nodded, like a stunned school boy.

"And then what happened? How'd your team do against a Kage?" Naruto grinned like an idiot to his father.

"We had Mei on our side! She's super strong, and she was able to use Lava techniques! So, Sakura, Haku, and the Demon Sisters held back, either keeping Haku safe, or healing people who became too injured to fight."

"Uh-huh."

"Kazumi and Zabuza gave support to Mei, alongside her bodyguards, Ao and Chojuro. They just kept pestering Yagura with long-range techniques and throwing up walls to defend Mei against Yagura's attacks."

"So what did you and Satsuki do?"

"Me and Satsuki were stuck trying to develop a counter-seal to remove whoever was in control of Yagura."

"A counter-seal? How did a seal come to mind?"

"Well, Ao figured out that Yagura was under control, and Kazumi used her Sharingan to double-check it. It turns out that the Mizukage was under control from ANOTHER Sharingan user!"

"That still doesn't explain why you had to use a counter-seal…"

"I'm getting to that part! So…"

(…)

"Naruto, you big idiot! The Sharingan still has patterns! Which means that-" Satsuki began, heart beating rapidly as swarms of Naruto's cannon-fodder clones perished in a sea of murky water.

"Which means that it can be used and countered in a matrix designed against it!" He quipped, happily. On the concrete ground, he laid some parchment out and hastily painted near-perfect seals with the help of two recently made copies of himself.

A few seconds passed, and the mind-controlled Yagura caught on to their plan. She swapped her targets, and easily fooled the red-headed revolutionary with a simple water clone substitution. Kazumi and Zabuza attempted interception, but were held back by two simultaneous Water Dragons, stemming from the damp earth beneath them.

Ao and Chojuro were stuck fighting fully tough and tangible clones of Yagura, leaving Mei to pursue by her lonesome.

"You blonde hippie idiot! This is why I said we should've just killed her!" The scorned redhead yelled, dodging every technique the mind-controlled Mizukage threw at her. Naruto growled back at her and stomped his feet childishly.

"And I told you, you angry witch – NOBODY IS BEYOND REDEMPTION!" As Naruto put his act on, holding his counter-seal up, ridiculously, Yagura smiled a bloodthirsty smile, and launched at the boy with some propulsion help from a Water Jet technique.

She whipped around, and skilfully hooked Naruto's neck with her odd, flower-tipped club. A quick motion, and it seemed that the boy's life had ended.

(…)

Minato gasped, in a highly over-exaggerated manner.

"Oh my god! Did you die!?" He asked his son, who broke into fits of laughter at the stupidity of the question. After regaining his composure, Naruto breathed harshly and sighed.

"God damn it, just let me tell the story! All your quips are making me lose my place! …Anyway…"

(…)

The Naruto in front of Yagura poofed in a thick, heavy cloud of smoke, which disoriented the Kage's vision. The puppet master behind the puppet sneered, and lost all sense of their mirth.

"Your sealing tricks won't work against me, Uzumaki. You may have a Uchiha traitor on your side, but it will change nothing!" Yagura's voice resounded, dividing into many clones of herself to disorient her enemy.

"Haku! Take these clones out!" The blonde called out, partitioning his own chakra out a little more so that the Yuki clan member could utilise her technique more extensively.

At his words, hundreds of images filled the Ice Mirrors in the dome, some containing Haku, or disguised clones from either Naruto or the Demon Sisters, all ready with senbon and kunai.

"Ice Pinprick!" It was a simple combination of old techniques that Haku had crafted into a new one – which attacked an enemy from all angles, if she could hold that many clones up at the same time.

The added touch of an Ice element could've easily disabled any fire or water technique an enemy would be dumb enough to use…

"…Try as though you may, you misguided whore, but you will not get the chance to slap me with your se-!"

"And try as hard as you want – but never monologue! Monologue-ing leaves you open for attack!" Naruto warned the woman, taking a bold strike at her mid-section, prepared with one hundred or so clones that were all primed with anti-Sharingan control seals.

'_Fuck me I hope these work.'_

'_**Yes, fuck you. Though you could try fucking the mind control out of this one if your seal doesn't work.'**_ Naruto groaned at the Kyuubi's words.

'_Oh my god, I don't need any fucking lip from you, Kurama.'_ If blood wasn't pumping to his ears, and if he wasn't trying to stifle the erection he had from the adrenaline in his veins, then Naruto would've heard the chakra-being laugh.

About five or so seals found their way onto Yagura's body, and in the milliseconds before the blonde boy held up a hand seal in activation, her puppet master frantically searched for a way to evade or counter the technique.

Naruto clapped his hands together, and went through three more hand seals to coincide with the seal's three layered matrix. Pulsing chakra through his hands, which then went to the seals on Yagura's body, magic happened.

"YOU LITTLE SLUT!" Yagura yelled – a clear, advanced form of the Sharingan showing in her eyes. Satsuki looked on at the battle, and quickly activated her own dual-tomoe bloodline ability to copy the design of the eye pattern.

Mei, Zabuza, Kazumi, and Mei's bodyguards converged on the convulsing Kage. Ao and Kazumi had their stolen eyes activated, and searched Yagura's body for any sign of changes.

"Her coils are constricting… She's in there! The real Mizukage is still inside her!" The sensor kunoichi stated, eye veins popping out in a show of incredible strain. Kazumi scanned the girl's mind, and witnessed subtle movements and contortions of Yagura's facial muscles.

"And she's fighting!"

"Is there anything we can do?" Sakura asked, thoroughly exhausted after healing her friends. All of the kunoichi had ran back to recuperate with her at least once, draining her reserves quite quickly.

Satsuki's mind went rampant, and she came up with a solution.

"Sensei! If we both use our Sharingan to cast an illusion on the Mizukage, we might be able to influence her thoughts, and help her fight whatever is trying to control her!" The Uchiha suggested.

It was crazy, and it was a long shot, but it was all they had to work with. Kazumi nodded, and darted her gaze back to Naruto.

"Naruto! Continue activating those seals at set intervals! You can disrupt the controller's rule over Yagura!" The odd-eyed jounin ordered her student. Naruto balked at the command.

"B-but it's designed to work against the base design of the Sharingan! Your control will be messed up in the illusion!" He warned them. Kazumi smirked at him, through the grooves in her mask.

"Give us a tempo, and we'll work to avoid it at those set intervals, you big dope!" Satsuki yelled at him, taking the words from Kazumi's mouth.

"Alright! Let's do it!"

(…)

"Wait, wait, wait – hold the fuck up again!" Minato shouted, making Naruto groan in a defeated fashion.

"So you mean to tell me that Kazumi and Satsuki were able to enter Yagura's mind without aid of the Mangekyo Sharingan?" Fugaku had divulged some of the Uchiha clan secrets to Minato over the years, as a sign of good faith and friendship. Through this, the Namikaze man had learnt of the dark secret of the clan, and their so-called "Curse of Hatred", which permeated their early culture.

Naruto shook his head.

"From what Satsuki told me, the initial levels of the Sharingan can only slightly influence a person's thoughts, and make it as though they were acting on their own accord, where in reality, they're only working as the user's told them to." Minato nodded, recalling the basics of "Bloodlines – 101".

"Go on."

"So, Kazumi and Satsuki worked together, and synchronised their Sharingan to gain an imprinted image of what Yagura was fighting."

"So what did they see?"

"Nothing. They could feel the remnants of great power, something "evil and dark", they said."

"So the woman pulling the strings behind Yagura's face had fled?"

"Yeah. Apparently she didn't want us seeing her face, or even a mental image of it!" Minato's expression went wide-eyed, before he considered the implications of such a foe.

They were skilled enough with the Sharingan to overtake and dominate a Kage's mind (even if they were very young), and hold enough control over said person for an extended period of time. This Sharingan user also had to have had some unimaginable power to sustain the technique of mind-controlling from such a distance away.

And, to top that, they were unseen in doing so, only leaving an imprint of their perilous evil, and powerful control in their victim's mind.

"That's horrifying." He felt the need to train harder. And the Hokage felt the need to strengthen his mind in case of possible attack.

'_Note to self – organise meeting with Inoichi and Fugaku… I need to learn to resist this technique… And so does Naruto.'_ He thought, looking worriedly over to his son. Naruto cleared his throat, and kicked his feet up.

"So, we found the "real" Mizukage. We spent a few days in Kirigakure slowly getting her accustomed to things." Minato's mood went teasing as his son concluded his story.

"Oh? Is that all?" Naruto blushed deeply.

"ALRIGHT! Fine! I took her out on a date on my third last night in Kirigakure – right before you came down to formalise things." He confessed. Minato nodded, with a smile, and sighed with some relief.

At least now, Konoha had a new ally, and two very powerful friends. They also knew the power of their enemy – even if it was immense. Now, they'd be able to train against her, and to learn to defend against any techniques the mystery Sharingan user might've known.

"She's like me, dad." Naruto said quietly. Minato's smile grew bigger, and he patted his son on the back.

"You and your friends saved her. I think we might make a connection now." Minato said, his train of thought changing quickly with Naruto's new piece of information. The young blonde's interest perked.

"Oh?"

"Perhaps the person controlling Yagura had intended to capture her Tailed Beast if she ever broke the control. The "puppet master" also had the power to supress a Tailed Beast, alongside a Kage…" Minato mused. Naruto's eyes went wide in worry.

"Do you think she's a target now?"

"…Yes, but we will protect her." The Kage's voice was resolute and final. They _would_ protect their friends, no matter what. He calmed his son, easily.

"And, what, do you think she's part of the Akatsuki, as well?" Naruto inquired. Minato nodded.

"It's only vague connections, but my gut says yes. The woman controlling Yagura only kept her and her Beast alive because she had use to her as Mizukage. The controller could've raised an army in Kirigakure to fight against her enemies."

"True… Anyway, we ended up breaking the control over Yagura."

(…)

Kazumi and Satsuki departed from their illusion, and Naruto overloaded the seals on Yagura's body with his chakra, alongside Kurama's. Together, their mixed energies sought out and destroyed any left vestiges of Sharingan control, allowing the Mizukage to finally "wake up" as herself once more.

She opened her eyes – no longer dominated from the control of a blood red visage, and she cried, throwing her arms around Kazumi, Satsuki, and Naruto, crushing them tightly against herself.

She babbled "thank you" and "you're all my saviours" countless times, before finally settling. Tears didn't stop falling down the woman's cheeks, coming from sheer relief and the sense of freedom.

Eventually, terms were discussed, and Yagura willingly stepped down as Mizukage, allowing Mei to take over, after a probationary period as her "temporary" replacement. Any fiercely loyal soldiers who believed in the indoctrinated Yagura's cause were silenced and jailed as per Mei's rule.

Days later, Minato caught word from a note back to Konoha, and travelled to Kirigakure, sensing that the alienated village needed new allies. Mei was eager to accept, and they agreed on suitable terms that would greatly benefit both villages.

The deeply ashamed Yagura had begged Mei for execution, in response to her "betrayal" of Kirigakure.

(…)

"You must, Mizukage." Yagura implored her successor, staring woefully to the city she thought she had corrupted and nearly destroyed. Mei grabbed her predecessor by her shoulders and shook her head.

"We all have our moments of weakness, Yagura. As kunoichi, we realise that we may die or be forever lost to what we once were during those moments. But not all can say that they've come back from their own downfall." After that, a smile grew on the new Mizukage's face.

"I will not execute you, and I implore you otherwise to do what you can to help us – by giving information on the person who attacked you, and by using your power to help Kirigakure and its allies." Mei was very well spoken when she wanted to be. She seldom spoke "properly", but when she did, she had nuggets of wisdom and enlightenment.

Yagura nodded her head, and sighed, deeply.

"Of course, Mizukage." Then, Mei turned jolly, once more.

"I will appoint you as an emissary to Konoha. When you feel ready, we can then make you our official ambassador." Yagura nodded once more, a small smile coming to her lips.

"That should give you ample time to court that little hippie of ours…" Mei teased, mentally noting how odd it was, that a single boy had captured the attention and hearts of so many, and still managed to be a viable ninja in the battlefield.

(…)

"Huh. Alright then." Minato nodded at his son's conclusion of the story. Naruto smiled and breathed easy, feeling right at home in his hometown.

"So, tell me – have you talked to Hinata yet?" Minato asked. He was fine with his son courting multiple women. Above all, he and Kushina had taught that loveless sex was _wrong_, and they both knew their son had kept that message in his heart.

Kushina had fun at Kazumi's expense, however. And Minato _had_ enjoyed the quiet bickering between Hiashi, Fugaku, and Kizashi about which of their daughter's fit Naruto the best.

"…No, no I have not." Naruto swallowed deeply, and stood up, dusting himself off. Quietly, Minato could hear his son crying and whining the entire way to the Hyuuga compound. The Hokage giggled, childishly, and sighed, sensing a familiar presence creep up behind him, wrapping their arms around his waist.

"So… How many grandchildren can I expect from our little boy, Min-min?" Kushina teased her husband, calling him by his least favourite nickname. Minato shivered in delight and smiled.

"A few shitloads, by the looks of things. And all from around the Elemental Nations. I swear that boy's trying to "love" his way across the globe or something." Minato joked, making his wife giggle.

* * *

A/N: If somebody has a complete list of genderbent character names for the Narutoverse, I would like to see that. I need to edit every single name I've posted here. Message me if you've got it!


	6. Chapter 6: Femfemfemfem! Also, eat dick!

A/N: I'd love your reviews.

Also, announcement: this story's going to turn into oneshots followed by some random plot-related thing. So, message me with the girls or "girls" you'd like to see the most!

Third Kazekage – "Sariku"

Third Mizukage – "Gengetsuri"

Second Tsuchikage – "Muki"

Second Raikage – "A", go figure.

* * *

(…)

"How'd she take the news?" Minato and Naruto trekked across the stretches of the Elemental Nations. They'd moved north-eastwards, towards the remains of a defiled battleground. The Hokage was attempting to distract himself as they neared their destination – a morbid halfway point between the lands of Fire and Lightning.

Naruto smiled to his father, ignorant of what horrors laid before them. Night was quickly casting upon the father and son.

"I am now in a polygamous relationship. Hinata has deemed herself the "leader" of us, and… I'm happy." He truly was, to have such a heavy weight lifted off his shoulders. And truly, he loved Hinata.

Minato snickered like an idiot.

"I'm glad to hear." Naruto refrained from bragging to his father when he actually _told_ Hinata…

(…)

Feeling cheeky, and feeling sneaky, Naruto sauntered his way to Hinata's bedroom within the Hyuuga compound, saying his greetings to guards and guys alike. He snaked his way to his girlfriend's door and peeled it away slowly, with a small grin on his face.

"Hinat- GOD DAMN IT!" Realising she wasn't there; he hit the closest wall and groaned childishly, slumping his back against her doorframe.

Coming back from exercise, Nejiko caught Naruto in the hallway, and gave him an odd look.

"Y… You're looking for Hinata, right?"

"Yeah, you seen her?"

"She's been looking for you. Try your house." She replied, flatly.

"Ah, sweet! Thanks, Nejiko!" And he bounded outwards, leaving the Branch-house member to huff indignantly. A small blush had risen to her cheeks that she'd been able to supress in the boy's sight.

(…)

Naruto entered his home, and with a creak of the door, shut himself in silently. He could sense another presence in the house, even without any techniques telling him so.

His parents were being lovey-dovey atop the Hokage Monument, so that left them out…

"Hinata?" No response.

He traipsed his way into his room, and found his lover there, lying under the covers of his bed.

"Hinata! I've been looking for you for like, five minutes!" He greeted her. Looking at her state of undress, and at the odd lump beneath his bed sheets, the blonde's look grew suspicious.

Either Hinata had cheated on him, in which case, they'd be even.

'_Huh… I did __**cheat**__ on her… Man, do I feel like a sack of shit.'_ He thought quickly, bringing up a neutral face to mask his inner turmoil as his girlfriend/possible former girlfriend began to speak.

"I believe you have something to tell me." Hinata said curtly, and dangerously. Like her mother, Hinako, she appeared shy at first glance. In private, however, if these Hyuuga women wanted something – they'd get it.

Or, they'd have fun at their partner's expense.

Naruto gulped, ignoring the shifting lumps beneath the bed sheets.

"I… I made love seven women during my mission in Wave Country." Naruto confessed.

"Were you coaxed, or did your… Friend… have anything to do with this?" One of the building blocks of their relationship was when Naruto revealed his sacrificial secret to his then-new girlfriend.

'_**Tell her that **__**I am Chakra**__**. I am incorporeal, and I have no desire to procreate. Though, I would enjoy putting you in harm's way.'**_

'_You know what's really funny? When you stop speaking. That always cracks me up. And besides, why pick a form like a fox when you could've just as easily been a floating chakra cloud or something?'_

'_**I like being feared. No one fears a cloud.'**_

'_No sane person fears a fox.'_

'_**Fuck you. It's not like I can pick my form out of the blue.'**_

'_Fuck you back. And I call bullshit.'_

"I'll be completely honest, everyone was to blame for that, including me."

"Tell me specifics." Hinata ordered him, with a daring gaze. Naruto swallowed the low lying lump in his throat and continued on.

"Well, we were training, and… I don't know, I think Satsuki or Sakura must've said something, then Kazumi stepped in and made things uncomfortable for everybody, and then I think the Demon Sisters might've spiked our water with something re-"

"No. Tell me how they _felt_." Hinata's voice went lusty as she stretched her arms above her head, revealing that she was most likely naked underneath his bed covers.

Naruto blanked at her choice of words.

"H-huh?"

"Tell me how Satsuki's pussy felt. Or how tight Sakura's asshole was. Did you… gag anybody with their sopping panties?" Catching on, Naruto disrobed faster than lightning and smiled at the Hyuuga woman. With a foxy grin, he shrugged his shoulders.

"I did make two sisters lick my cum off the other's face…" Hinata mewled as he her hands drifted down south. With a small moan, she began playing with herself and bit her bottom lip as she stared at her lover.

"Oooh… Anything else?"

"I fucked a girl so hard she almost passed out from pleasure…"

"Mmhmm…"

"Wait a minute…" Naruto threw off his bed covers to find a reclining Satsuki, and a scared-looking Sakura.

"Uh… Surprise?"

Sometime later, the group was assembled in a heavy, heaving mess. Naruto was currently burying and rubbing his face in Hinata's massive bust, enjoying every inch of the girl's incredibly soft, nubile skin.

"Mm, it seems you missed me, Naruto~" She sung in his ear, making him groan in affirmation. He was balls-deep in his first girlfriend with, eagerness and happiness to spare. Her pussy was as tight as ever, squeezing him rhythmically as his cock delved into her impossibly hot depths. Smiling into her tits, he latched onto her inverted nipples and sucked lazily.

"Could be that, or that he was told he can have a harem…" Satsuki theorised, sitting on the face of a blood-clone, shivering after her words.

"Mmph!" Sakura agreed, whining after the clone clogging her throat with its cock pinched her enlarged nipples.

"All of those things, and more! I love you all, so much." Each Naruto said to their current partner, breaking away from whatever activity they were currently engaged in to passionately kiss them. Hinata, Satsuki, and Sakura all smiled back to their foxy lovers, going back to their positions beforehand.

(…)

Laying back, wishing he had a third hand, Naruto was being pleasured by three of his many lovers. Hinata and Sakura were giving him the most fantastic blowjob he'd ever received, if he could even call it that. Sakura had enlarged her breasts using _his_ favourite technique, to match Hinata's massive size.

It was actually very useful. Hinata had to use chest bindings in order to move more effectively during a battle, yet Sakura had naturally smaller breasts. Sakura could enlarge or shrink them whenever she wanted, negating the need for the uncomfortable bindings.

Of course, the only time she ever used the technique was with Naruto. Tsunade had insisted that she'd be able to use it for when she needed to be a midwife, but… That was far off.

He massaged their scalps as they surrounded his cock with their breasts and collectively jerked upwards and downwards, eliciting some excited growls from the foxy boy.

"Ah… Ffffuck! More!" He groaned silently, bucking his hips despite Hinata's powerful attempts to keep him steady. Satsuki straddled him and silenced him with tiny kisses, keeping his attention divided, and his pleasures to many.

As Sakura eyed the meaty appendage in front of her, her sex grew hot, and she blushed, licking and sucking what bits of the cock she could. She smiled as her boyfriend's muffled moans reached her ears.

Hinata simply smirked, glad that others could join in on the fun.

"CMMPH!" Naruto screamed, pleasure tearing through him.

(…)

Turns out, Satsuki had intercepted Hinata before Naruto, and had carefully worded the situation to the Hyuuga Heiress. While at first, she was angered, Satsuki's pleading and honeyed words struck a chord with Hinata.

Eventually, she relented, and, after being informed of what occurred during the escort to Wave, Hinata accepted what happened, thoroughly surprising Satsuki.

"Okay, just to be clear: Seven women. Myself included."

"I understand, Satsuki. I know what I'm doing. He's a person, not a thing, but I am willing to open my relationship."

"Really?"

"I trust he knows what he wants within a relationship, and quite frankly, sometimes he even… Tires me out." With a curt blush on Hinata's cheeks, Satsuki didn't have to ask what the hell "tire out" meant.

"What I'm saying is, his heart belongs to many."

"You realise that-"

"Satsuki, for god's sake – stop acting all proper and accept that I know what I'm doing!"

"So does this mean-" The Uchiha liked to be absolutely sure of what they meant. They could all come off as cold at times. In a situation like this, however, Satsuki found it pertinent that her friend be as clear as possible.

"YES!" And the two finished their tea. The Uchiha woman couldn't wipe the smirk off her face as Hinata smiled to her. A predatory look flashed in Hinata's pale eyes.

Sakura eventually made her way, after a pep-talk with her mothers, and found her way into the Hyuuga Estate.

"Hinata, we need to talk. It's about-"

"It's fine. You're welcome to join us this afternoon, Sakura…"

It was a win-win-win-win-holy-shit-what-a-win for all sides involved. Hinata truly didn't mind her man being "shared" amongst many women. As long as she had him when she needed him, and as long as he loved them all as much as he could, then the Hyuuga heiress didn't mind it.

And he didn't mind it either, despite the inner turmoil he felt at first.

Sakura and Satsuki were quite relieved to have even had a chance at the man. Because yes, they had loved him, for quite a time. But Hinata was _the_ lucky one. Or the fastest out of them.

And good God be damned if they were going to let a chance to be with the man they loved slip through their fingers.

(…)

"And that brings us to now." Hinata said, dancing her fingers up and down Naruto's bare chest, making him moan appreciatively. Wrapped in his arms were a sleeping Sakura and a smiling Satsuki, as well as Hinata.

"Awesome. Did you really have to tease me, though?" He whined. Hinata kissed him on his head.

"Hey, it's not like this kind of stuff happens every day. Let me have my fun!" She jested, in good humour. Naruto chuckled, then sat his head back.

'…_Why do I get the strange sensation that somewhere, this happens all the time?'_ He shook his head and cleared his thoughts, falling asleep quite easily in the love-hug they were enveloped in. Every now and again, he'd kiss them all on the tops of their heads, giving smiles to all around.

So, yes. Now Naruto had a harem.

(…)

"I'm happy for you, son." Minato said with a small smile.

They moved fast, under the cover of night. The Hokage didn't want to be seen entering other countries without announcement. What they were doing this night wasn't meant to be seen or heard by anyone else.

"Now… Why are we coming out here again?"

"It's… a rite of passage..." Naruto remained silent as his father dug up horrible memories.

"The Namikaze were a clan. No matter what Hiruko, Tsunade, or any stuffy Hyuuga will tell you – the Namikaze were a clan of tremendous power. They… We originated in Lightning Country." Minato said with absolute resolution in his voice. The son nodded to his father and let out a cold, shaky breath.

"What happened to them?" Minato's look went downwards. Many emotions filled him. Rage, hopelessness, fury, and the impotence of knowing no matter what happened, he couldn't have saved anyone.

"I'll… I'll get to that. The Namikaze were a clan of shamans. Those who could talk to the dead. We were often called upon and hired to connect others with lost loved ones. Anyone with our blood could've used the ability. Men and women included."

"Contact the dead? That sounds pretty intense…"

"It was evolutionary, and it was ingrained within a Namikaze's mind once they were born. There was no power gap. Only women could harness a dead person's power, though."

"Wait… What do you mean?"

"A Namikaze woman was innumerably powerful in the sense that she could harness the power a dead person permanently. However, she'd be indebted to that person indefinitely. A "Death Pact" is what my mothers called it."

"What was a Death Pact?"

"It was an unbreakable promise made by a clan member to whoever the deceased person was. You get to use their powers, and they have one request. It could've been anything they wanted."

"Huh… What "powers" did a Namikaze get from the dead?"

"Everything and anything beyond that person's physical prowess. Any technique or mental capabilities the deceased had, the Namikaze could get."

"That's insane! Why didn't the Namikaze just… Overpower everyone else?"

"Because, if you wanted the power for any other reason than to protect or help others… Then that would be working against sacred clan tenets. If you broke those, you'd be stripped of the Namikaze name and executed so you could do no further harm."

"The Namikaze were protectors?"

"Of sorts. That knowledge has been lost on me. I like to think we stuck up for the little guy." He said with a small chuckle, before growing grim once more.

"What stopped others from taking the techniques?" Naruto asked, reverently. Noticing the air of the conversation, he decided to keep his questions short. He didn't want to dig up anything his father wasn't ready to tell him.

"We were respected enough, and we were a strong clan. If anyone tried to take it forcefully, they'd still be at a loss. Only Namikaze blood could've performed the technique." Minato explained simply. With a nod, Naruto went silent and thought carefully on his next words.

"But someone tried to…"

"Yeah… Like I said, only women were able to use the dead's powers. That all changed when I was born. When news got out to Iwagakure that I was able to learn from the deceased, things got out of hand, really fast."

"…How?" He knew _what_ had happened, by the way his father spoke. Naruto wanted to know how such a powerful clan was defeated by an Iwa force. Minato's throat closed as he remembered the night.

"Iwa sent their entire army. A force of one hundred thousand kunoichi moved under the ground like some kind of… Earthquake. They attacked us as we migrated to Konoha from Kumo, while we were sleeping."

"D-Dad, I'm so-" Minato held a hand up to his son, with a sombre smile.

"It's fine, son. I've come to terms with it."

"So… How did you make it out alive?" Minato's tone turned ponderous as he looked out to the smoky hills of the Frost/Hot Water Country borders.

"Before this attack, all major countries and their capitals were on pretty even ground. The Namikaze had denounced all ties to Kumo due to some disputes over our clan techniques, and Hiruko had sent us a better offer."

Naruto's confused look made Minato chuckle softly.

"Such a strong a clan moving allegiances meant that one capital was about to become much more powerful than the others. After the battle, Iwa lost so much footing in terms of military strength that they're still trying to recover, some thirty-five years later. Kumo managed to recover, but they still fall behind Konoha in terms of technology and communications."

"Then Kiri lost its Mizukage, and Yagura became possessed, leading to some forces defecting and causing in-fighting. Then, Suna's been struggling recently… But what does this have to… Wait…" Minato's small grin turned to a vile frown, like a bad taste had made itself known on his tongue.

"It was one of the reasons I was able to achieve the rank of Hokage, above any other. I annihilated an eighth of Iwa's army at the time. I… Singlehandedly put ten thousand people to death, that night."

"Dad-" Another hand up.

"I woke up as they almost finished their slaughter. I went into shock, and time slowed down to a halt. I activated our clan technique, and I made a Death Pact with First and Second Hokage, the Third Kazekage, the Second Mizukage, and the Second Raikage." The gravity of his father's words hit him, and Naruto nodded.

"Damn. What… If it's not rude to ask, what did they request of you?"

"Both Hokage requested that I bring peace to the Elemental Nations. Not a simple request, but, they had the right to ask that of me." Realising the irony of requesting their powers to slaughter a bunch of kunoichi, Minato halted his son from speaking again.

"I broke the clan tenet. I was seven, son. I wanted to hurt everyone who hurt me…" Minato shook his head again.

"A, the Raikage, asked me to defeat whoever succeeded her as the new Raikage in combat."

"That's kinda simple." Minato nodded to his son.

"It was the first Pact I completed. Reason being, A didn't think a shinobi could beat her successor. The current Raikage in power… She's a pushover. She's deadly when she's teamed up with her sister, but, yeah. Pushover."

"The Mizukage?"

"I gained an elemental affinity from her, like the others. In exchange for her supply of water techniques, she requested that I reinstate Kiri to its former power. Help stabilise it, and get rid it of crime..."

"What was her name? I've never studied much on the history of Kirigakure."

"Gengetsuri. She's a lovely person to talk to, but very deadly." Minato said with a sombre tone.

"Finally, from Sariku, I gained her ability to control the metal in the earth. She asked me to…" Minato went confused trying to remember the promise he made to the woman.

"Sariku?"

"The Third Kazekage. Her request was for me to return the Land of Wind to its… Former beauty." Minato said those words with utmost exhaustion. His son gave him a crazy, confused look.

"Hold up, does that mean Wind Country wasn't always deserts and mountains?"

"Apparently. She thought that the entire country might've been attacked or sullied by the Shukaku. That with its chakra, it tainted the Land of Wind, and now I have to make the entire thing an oasis again."

"So…" Naruto edged his father on to explain the details of the battle that followed.

"My mind and body were jolted, and I was brought back, just as an Iwa kunoichi threw her kunai at me. I melded the metal to match the design of my kunai that you see today, and… I drew my first blood. Using the techniques I'd learnt, I warped the environment around the kunoichi and killed them, one by one." He went silent for a time, before noticing that they'd arrived on the battlefield.

One could still see smoke and weapons lying on the scorched and battered earth. Tunnels and holes were dug, in an attempt to escape. Spikes and puddles of every element littered the otherwise barren grounds.

All the bodies were gone, and one wouldn't have guessed that a battle took place, from a cursory glance. The only identifiers that still remained were the tattered tents of the Namikaze, finally laid to rest, and the ancient equipment of the dead.

"I killed the last of their forces, and I weakened their Tsuchikage at the time. The battle only lasted about two hours. Only Muki responded to me. She tried to defend her forces, but I managed to trap her. She ended up splitting herself – like a clone technique, but not really... Hm…"

"Her body, along with many others, are entombed in that… Thing, over there." The current Hokage pointed, and his son remarked lowly.

It was an imperfect wooden sphere, which had all the marks of a tomb about it. Branches stuck out, denoting the bodies of those trapped within, left to be crushed or suffocate. The moon cast an ethereal glow on it, making it appear as if as though the entire wooden construct was wriggling.

"I can smell death." Naruto said, shocked.

Minato gave a sullen nod, and walked towards the centre of the battlefield.

"Hiruko… She said she'd felt the shockwaves coming from Iwa's underground travel. She arrived as I engaged in combat with Muki. She finished her off and carried her corpse into the tomb, there. I collapsed and… Well, the day after, I met your mother, in Konoha."

"They took you in… What happened to Mom's family?"

"Pretty much the same as mine. An attack from some scorned village that almost destroyed both sides. Except that the Uzumaki are revered around the Elemental Nations, and some family of hers are still alive, albeit, scattered." Minato reasoned, with an even tone. Quickly, he and Naruto departed, going further north-eastwards. Naruto looked around the barren battlefield with an odd look.

"Dad? Where are we going now?"

"We're going to where the Namikaze came from, Naruto. It's a fair hike, but I'd like you to meet the Raikage." Minato said, gearing up for another endless trek. The blonde boy cursed under his breath and put on an overcoat to heat himself up.

The Hokage gave a backwards wink to his boy.

"Hey, chin up. I'll teach you the clan technique. All we're doing here is saying hello to the Raikage and her sister. We might pick up some stuff from the Namikaze vault, but…" He let his words hang, and Naruto let out a reluctant sigh.

"Alright, I'll follow, I'll follow…"

Little did Naruto know, that this trip with his father would be their best yet.

* * *

A/N: Well, dang. Time to cut our wrists and listen to Papa Roach.

Oh, right, you're all twelve. Well… Time to eat a lot of food and listen to Adele.


	7. Chapter 7: He T H I C C

A/N: "B-but you can't just fix family problems all in one chapter!"

Watch me!

_ThisisnotyourstoryThisisnotyourstoryThisisnotyourstoryThisisnotyourstoryThisisnotyourstory_

* * *

The warming comfort of Konoha greeted Naruto again, after a long, long-winded trip with his father.

He'd learnt so much, and absorbed all the techniques he could from his mentor.

The Jinchuuriki had even formed his own Death Pact, and with it, came a permanent marking on his back, to signify the bonds of this promise…

Who with, you ask?

Ah, even an author has their secrets. We live in a world of ninja, after all. Well, all in due time.

Anyway, after their trip to Kumo, after absolutely dominating the Raikage and her sister in a spar, Minato and Naruto flashed to the other side of the continent and made a visit to Suna.

And WOW, did they make new friends out of old friends!

They spent about a week or so in Suna, where Minato and Rasa went off to see the Wind Daimyo about securing missions for the village hidden in the Sand.

Whilst the two Kage left the city, Naruto was left alone to explore the village by himself…

(…)

The burning sun scorched the lands of Wind, and in particular, Sunagakure.

Naruto was clad in a light, white robe, to reflect the majority of the sun's heating rays. Along with his uncommon, bright blonde hair, he was clearly seen as a tourist.

Though, he wasn't there to blend in.

Naruto had formed and disguised many, many, many clones to scour Suna for good locator seal spots. The blonde had marked the battle site of his clan, both as a tribute to the Namikaze, and as a locator point for the Flying Thunder God technique, should anyone come and try to defile the final resting place of so many.

In Suna's case, Naruto was marking out points for the same technique, should trouble ever arise in the struggling town. The locator seals were unique to each other, and inconspicuous, to avoid any detection.

Sunagakure was a large hole in the ground, formed around a central, spherical structure, which Naruto likened to Konoha's own Kage tower/office. Whilst potential threats could scale the mountains surrounding Suna, it did provide ample protection from the harsh winds.

And, Suna's kunoichi were no pushovers, by any means. Nearly every ninja walking the streets had the air of danger about them – even supposed civilian puppeteers and merchants. Every person on the street was prepared for a cataclysm – as living in the harsh deserts had made them accustom to it.

Shaking his head of those thoughts, Naruto was implored to seek out a woman named "Gaara". The Kazekage had been very… scarce, when it came to information about her daughter.

Well, beyond the fact that she was the daughter of the Kazekage, and that she had red hair, Naruto had nothing on the woman.

His clone's sought out information from townsfolk, who would shiver at the mention of the "Sand Devil's" name. They'd all point to the same spot – an edge of the cliffs that overlooked Suna's centre.

And thus, Naruto took off, his clones still wandering around the town, looking for interesting people and places, whilst he sought the Devil of the Sand herself.

(…)

Turning away from manipulating the desert to her whim, she stared daggers into the boy's soul.

She had short, chopped red hair – dark as blood, and as coarse as the sand that framed her. She wore heavy robes that uncovered her arms, and had a cute, if over-tired and insane-looking face.

"Who are you?" She spoke, choppily. Naruto held his hands up in defence, like a prey to a predator.

"A… Friend…" He replied, slowly, keeping his distance from the girl.

"Mother says to kill you…" The redhead said, holding one hand up to her side, which moved and moulded the desert sand around herself. Several projectiles formed in the air, and Naruto slid into an evasive stance.

"I don't want to fight you." He said, resolutely.

"Then, like the rest those unworthy to face me, you will die." And so the two faced off, amongst the sheer, barren cliffs that overlooked Sunagakure. Naruto skilfully dodged every single projectile and errant sand arm thrown his way, and easily diverted all attacks that _had_ hit towards any clone substitutes.

Slowly, but surely, Gaara was slipping – losing her edge, and turning to blind rage. More and more of her Biju chakra began to envelop her.

'_**SLEEP! SLEEP!'**_ She was so very tired, and the voice inside her edged her on to do so, slowly.

Naruto balked at the evil, red tendrils of chakra which flicked and danced over Gaara's body. He backed away from her as she fell limp, and a massive burst of wind exploded outwards from her falling body.

In a flash, the sand surrounding the cliff edges flew to Gaara's skin and melded to create a new form around her. It was a massive, daunting mockery of a Tanuki, which had flickers of dark blue intertwining with its sand-covered carapace. The redhead could be seen, sleeping atop the sand beast's form.

'_**So… This is where Shukaku has been hiding…'**_

'_You know what this thing is!? Tell me!'_

'_**This is the One-Tailed Beast, Naruto. The girl you are fighting is a Jinchuuriki like yourself. Though I'm surprised you didn't notice that earlier.'**_ The beast within Naruto jostled him. The blonde boy sighed, and dodged more and more furious strikes from the newly seen Tailed Beast.

'_Is this a taunt? I'm thinking this is going to lead into a fantastic, well thought out taunt.'_ Kurama scoffed at the boy.

'_**Is this a future slut of yours? I'm thinking after you finish fighting her, you'll end up fucking her.'**_

'_Probably more action than you'll ever get, chump.'_ Kurama then audibly sighed within Naruto's mind.

'_**As I've said, many, many, many times before – I AM A BEING MADE OF CHAKRA! I HAVE NO SEXUAL DESIRES WHATSOEVER!' **_It roared, _blasting_ Naruto's ears with such noise, making the boy lose a step, get hit by Shukaku's blasts, then explode into smoke.

"Ah, screw this!" Naruto formed yet more clones – some to pester Shukaku with ranged techniques, and some to scribble up some containment seals.

Minutes passed by, the heat was effectively kept off the seal-writing clones. They handed their notes to the original Naruto and dispelled themselves. The boy took the multi-layered seal, and rushed forward to a distracted Shukaku, who was too busy fighting the blondes other clones to notice him.

"Calm the beast within! Take control, and BE FREE!" He shouted, leaping and slamming the seal on top of the sleeping girl's forehead, jolting her awake.

"**NO!"** The voice inside the woman roared, before exploding outwards in a blast of wind. Gaara's limp body fell, and Naruto rushed to catch her. As he held her in his arms, the blonde Jichuuriki smiled down to the girl, with nothing but warmness in his heart.

"Wh… Why?" She asked him, weakly. Fresh tears began to form as Naruto hugged her.

"Shh… Like I said – I'm a friend! Now rest, Gaara…" He hugged her tight, and she did as he asked, snoozing easily. Their seals clashed together, and glowed brilliantly. A light headache throbbed in his brain for a few seconds, before fading.

'_**Shukaku is furious.'**_

'_Well, I'm sorry – I did what I had to-'_ A deep laugh shook him out of his thoughts.

'_**Don't be ridiculous, Naruto. I despise that little imp more than I do you. To see it so angry is actually quite humorous.'**_

'_You're a fantastic sibling.'_ He thought back, before wincing as the light girl fell limp in his arms. He was set upon by two more ninja, who had previously watched on from afar. Immediately, his defences were up, but in his state, he was limited.

"Before you guys do anything rash – I can explain." Naruto calmed the two down, attempting to put on a disarming pose with the redhead Jinchuuriki still in his arms. One of the women, clad in thick, black clothing, just gave the boy a nervous look.

The other kept her distance, and had a hand on the giant fan on her back.

"I'd step away from her if I were you." The sandy-blonde warned him.

"Huh? Why?"

"If she's asleep, that means she'll attack the village soon. Step away from her!" The black-garbed woman said, animating the puppet on her back with chakra strings. Naruto looked down to Gaara, and back up to the two women.

"She's fine, trust me! I've temporarily quelled the Ichibi." The Konoha ninja explained, with a smile.

"You're fucking kidding me." The other blonde said, with the driest tone the boy had ever heard. The war-painted kunoichi primed the weapons within her wooden puppet.

"Are you an enemy of Suna?" She asked him, dangerously.

Naruto gave her a disarming look.

"Huh? No, no! My dad's the Hokage, and-"

"Ugh… Stop. If she really is sleeping peacefully, then we'll take her somewhere safe." The blonde said, standing in the battering sands, wind blowing through her cloak.

"Well, I'm Naruto. Who're you two?" He asked, dumbly.

"I'm Kankuro." The war-painted puppet master introduced herself.

"And I'm Temari. We're Gaara's sisters." The fan-user said.

Naruto nodded slowly, a smile growing on his face.

"That's good. It's good to know she has family." Kankuro put her hand up and opened her mouth to protest such a fact, but Temari shot her down. Naruto noticed the pair's exchange, and followed as they led him down the cliffs.

"What is it?" Some awkward silences followed his question, raising the boy's ire.

"I'll come right out with it. We're not a fantastic family, by any standards." Temari began, as the group hopped down, rock-by-rocky rock. Naruto took a moment to take in the lovely village from his aerial viewpoint, before continuing his descent.

"Why's that?"

"Try having a Kage for a mother, for one." Kankuro mumbled, hatefully. Naruto cleared his throat.

"Uh, sure. Okay…"

"Now try having another mother. Only; this one's dead." Nope, he wasn't game enough for that. He loved his mother!

"Okay. Your mother, the Kazekage, didn't have enough time to raise you guys properly?" A little nod came from Temari.

"Yeah." She was curt and quick with her responses, looking very angry at even the mention of the woman.

"…I feel like there's more to this than you guys are telling me." More silence followed his words, and as they took their time getting to the central dome of Sunagakure, Naruto sighed heavily – and audibly.

"You seem to know more than you let on. We'll make sure you aren't an enemy before we say anything else." Temari said, firmly. Naruto nodded, and silently carried the snoozing sandy siren of Sunagakure.

"I'm not here to cause trouble."

"Your headband says differently." Naruto looked up to his forehead and inwardly cursed.

'_**You fool.'**_

'_Thanks for the opinion I totally asked for. Really, thanks.'_

"I'm not an enemy." He repeated, with an innocent shrug of his shoulders. Kankuro halted the group and stared back at the boy.

"We're still inclined to believe that you _are, _shinobi."The puppeteer held a hand over her unwrapped puppet. Naruto made the best defensive gesture he could with his full hands, and calmed the woman down.

"Alright, okay, I get it!"

"Good. Then shut up, and keep following us." The blonde boy nodded, and shifted his grip on the cute redhead in his arms.

'_Everywhere I go, its "Hey, what are you doing here!?", and "Don't come any closer! I can throw shuriken so fast it'll make your head spin! Also, it'll make your head spin!" and "Oh, we don't like people with penises here. What are they called again? Ah yes – __**men.**__ I hate men. Always have!" It's never "Hey, come in for some tea! We were just settling down for a nice roast meal. Why don't you come train with us?" Man I hate diplomacy.'_ The boy thought tiredly, keeping his jovial façade up in the physical realm.

The Tailed Beast within him rolled its ethereal eyes.

'_**That was perhaps the longest spiel you've ever serenaded me with.'**_

'_Wasn't meant for you. How's the extra sense thing going, by the way?'_

'_**I've blunted it more than usual. The Sunagakure heat is not enjoyable.'**_

'_Fair enough.'_

"We're here." Temari called out, unenthusiastically.

"Here" was a small, rectangular shelter, with some bedding and furniture set up. A set of medical supplies were stashed away in the corner, having been opened not too long ago. Kankuro took Gaara off Naruto's hands and laid the redhead to rest on the small bedding. Some windows carved into the sandstone structure stared out over the majority of Sunagakure, with only the giant dome behind it.

"Now… When will she wake up?" Temari asked.

Naruto mulled it over in his head, and did some quick math.

"I don't know. Probably about 8 hours." The other blonde nodded.

"How long are you here for?" Kankuro asked, a little less aggressive now that she was hidden from the public. Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. How long does it take for two Kage to visit a Daimyo?" The war-painted kunoichi chuckled at the boy.

"If mother's last trip was any indication – about four days." Naruto groaned at the info.

"Ugh… Okay then, I'm stuck here for the next four days." He relayed. The two kunoichi nodded, and took seats in the room, offering the boy some water.

"Your father is the Hokage?"

"Yeah. We came here because we heard you guys were getting screwed on missions, and money."

Temari nodded, solemnly. A wistful air swept through the building, and the fan-user slumped in her chair a little.

"We haven't heard much, but… We've had to shut down a lot of facilities here. Allegedly, the Daimyo thought Suna was dying, anyway. Why not kill us quicker?" Kankuro shook her head at her sister's words.

"A lot of people are left out in the streets to perish. There's barely any water here, and we can't really afford any imported supplies. And mother…" Naruto stared at the pair, evenly, the events weighing down on him.

"Mother just sits in her office all day long. Gaara would kill, and she would come out to contain her. Then she'd retreat." Temari finished for her sister with a bitter tone. The young man nodded, and ruffled his hair.

"I've had three words with the Kazekage. She literally just said "Please find Gaara", and left with my father to see the Daimyo…"Naruto stared up at the ceiling, which housed a single, dim lamp.

"…And?"Kankuro asked, in a confused manner. Naruto sighed, and grinned upwards.

"Konoha and Suna have been allies for a long time. Sure, things have been rough – but we've made it through together, at least up 'til now…" Temari blinked her eyes at the boy in an astonished manner.

"You're not making much sense, shinobi."

"There's a reason we're allies – and that's because our leaders share the same ideals." Kankuro shook her head in annoyance.

"If this speech doesn't have a point, I'm going to kill you."

"Just listen! Your mother, and my father share the same ideals. They became Kage to protect their loved ones. Your mother loves you, and she loves this city. Even with what she told me, I could see the sorrows of this entire place weighing down upon her." The two conscious sisters went silent.

"There are some things that can beat down the Kage, and an entire town's worth of pain and suffering is enough to do that. Your mother, whether she shows it or not, loves you guys _and_ this place with all of her heart."

"So why send you to help Gaara? How could she have known you'd be able to help her?" Temari asked.

"She couldn't have known. But we're here to help."

"So?"

"Even a Kage is willing to take a risk, sometimes."

The trio spent some time talking things out, and eventually developed a rapport. As was said before – new friends were made from old. The "Sand Sisters" as they'd been known as had told Naruto of their family life, opening up to him like no other friend before.

Being the diplomatic and jovial soul he was, he took in the information like a sponge, and dispensed hugs and comfort like no other friend they'd had before.

Then, Gaara awoke.

She yawned, shifted, and sat up, before rubbing the sleep from her baggy eyes. She blinked away the rest of the gunk from her emerald eyes, and stared on at the gathered people before her.

"W… Wh… Y-" She pointed a lazy, hazy finger at her sisters, and the blonde boy she'd seen somewhere before.

"I'm a friend, Gaara. I came here to help you."

"I can't hear mother…"

"That thing wasn't your mother, Gaara – that was the Ichibi, whispering things into your mind. It was trying to take you over." Naruto explained, softly. Gaara looked around, and down at the ground. She held a hand to her aching head, and slumped back on her mattress.

"…B-but…" Tears began to fill her eyes, and Naruto walked over to the young woman, and hugged her tightly.

She wept, and wept, and wept. Her sisters soon joined in consoling her.

More talking followed that. Minato, being the speedy soul he was, completed the trip to visit the Daimyo with Rasa in record time. In the two days Naruto spent at Sunagakure, he'd managed to perfect the Flying Thunder God technique, and successfully relayed between Konohagakure, Takigakure, and Sunagakure, before passing out from the sheer distance travelled.

He awoke on his second day, after a fourteen-hour sleep. The Sisters had provided him with a guest room within the dome, which was spacious, airy, and a little bit dull in terms of décor. Though, he didn't care. A bed was a bed, and sleep was glorious sleep.

He blinked, tiredly, and lifted himself up, only to be thrown back down onto his bed by a swathe of sand. The young blonde looked around, shocked, and discovered Gaara, who clung to his side, possessively.

"G-Gaara!" He whisper-shouted at the redhead.

"Hmmm…" She mumbled, hugging the boy tighter

"G-Ga-!"

"She's been "protecting" you for a few hours. Every time I try to get close, her sand stops me." Kankuro noted, stretching her legs in her reclined chair, which overlooked the Konoha ninja on his guest bed.

"K-Kankuro!?"

"What? Did he wake up?" Temari asked, poking her head into the boy's room.

"T-Temari!? Have you guys been watching me!?"

"Well…" Temari began.

"Kinda."Kankuro finished, abashedly.

"Your family is weeeeeird!" Naruto whined, trying to get up again. A cloak of sand enshrouded him, and slammed him back on the bed.

Their friendship only grew after those initial days together – such was the young boy's influence on those around him. Everywhere he went, he made friends out of old ones, and even out of enemies!

Those were some productive days at Sunagakure, at any rate, and the Kazekage family had come to see the Konoha duo off at the village's gates. Minato had given his expertise on modifying Gaara's seal – so that it would only let her access Shukaku's power when she needed it – and completely prevented the Tailed Beast from conversing with her, or taking her over.

And Rasa seemed happier, for the most part. Temari and Kankuro gave Naruto the benefit of the doubt, and held their mother to a lesser level of scrutiny.

Things began to improve in Suna, after the two blonde's visit. An alliance remained strong.

And the spark of love was lit.

Speaking of which…

(Back in Konoha)

It was a very short trip to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, but it left the Hokage's son exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to crawl back in his bed, with Hinata, or Sakura, or Satsuki, or even Kazumi…

But fate was not having it, it seemed. First of all, Izumo and Kotetsu held the pair up at Konoha's gates for some inane reasoning, and had to perform some quick checks to see if the two were the genuine articles.

It took about an hour of convincing on Minato's side to let them pass through Konoha's gates, but they were through!

The Jinchuuriki smiled to himself and geared up for an expansive jump over the city's rooftops, ready for some well-earned rest. As his legs lifted off the ground, however, a tired voice called to him.

"Hey, Naruto." It was Shikamaru. He sighed, and fell to the earth like a sack of potatoes, slumping unevenly on the ground. With a groan, he sat himself up, and dusted the dusty dust off his clothing, before walking up to the Nara genius.

"Hey, Shika. What's up?" The woman looked, for the first time in her life, extremely shy, and bashful.

"C-can I talk to you in private, for a sec?" The boy inwardly wept, but kept up a jovial, assuring façade.

"Of course. Where do you wanna head?"

"Well… Me and Chouji have been wanting to talk to you for a while, so let's… We'll meet up with her, first." Naruto was seriously alarmed by the girl's behaviour.

"Okay… Is everything alright with you guys?"

"Y-yeah, we're fine! J-just that…" She looked down at her feet, and inwardly scolded herself.

"We should both tell you. Just come with me." With a weary sigh, the boy nodded, and smiled to his friend.

"Sure."

(Some time later…)

Minato stalked in to a records vault, one of many hidden in Konoha. Two ANBU were scouring the place for him, as he looked on at the trashed room.

"From what you know so far, what was stolen?" The highly-trained kunoichi squirmed under his iron gaze, the man in full "Hokage Mode" as his wife dubbed it. His eyes were lit with a burning fury, at the thought of someone breaking into _his_ village.

"Only one document, s-sir. Something about the N-Ninja Soulstar." The man's gaze widened, then softened.

"Hm…"

"I've never heard of that. What the hell is it?" Minato cleared his throat, and activated a silencing seal around his immediate area.

"The Ninja Soulstar is a legendary artefact. And I say legendary because it should not exist. Supposedly it's the channelling point through which all warrior souls go through, to the afterlife." He explained, in a reverent tone.

"Lord Hokage… Does that mean-"

"For someone to break in and steal whatever information we had on it… They believe in the artefact." The Hokage said, heavily.

"If it does exist, then how could the thief use it?" Minato took a deep breath, and sighed.

"They could use it to raise an army of the dead. Or to overpower a technique. Imagine a fireball, the size of Konoha. Or a rain of kunai that could block out the sun – and that'd be only a fraction of this thing's power." He explained. His two subordinates looked on at him in fear, and he shook his head.

"If it existed. The document only speculates and theorises. As far as I'm concerned, Konoha needs to double its security if one of our vaults got broken into by a madwoman." He said, with a strict tone.

"Do I make myself clear?" He asked them both. The two kunoichi nodded, hurriedly.

"Of course, Lord Hokage."

"Good. I'll clean this mess up. You two need a rest." He said, forming some clones to take care of the dirty work.

* * *

A/N: oh boi dis gon b gud - hoo stol da docco, i bet u gaiz wont find oot

I'll explain Naruto's Death Pact in another chapter when I decide who he's taken it from. Again, all will be explained, so, please, fuck the shut up.


	8. Chapter 8: HOW SALTY CAN ONE MAN GET

A/N: The community (of writers) in this fanbase are fucking toxic.

Bunch of snarky, self-important cunts, let me tell ya.

Granted, while this story serves as a base to get the fanservice off my chest, it can be more than that!

A grade above shit, if you will.

Still, fuck those guys. Most are okay. Fuck those few.

* * *

In a barren valley near the borders of Fire and Grass, the Red Death herself dodged a flurry of kunai and shuriken, whipping through the air as the metal tools zipped past her flesh, unhindered.

She kept her sight on the group of five, now two bandits, who had dared to attack her on simple solo recovery mission.

An A-ranker. A warm up for her, if you will.

She recognised the bands of the rogue kunoichi in front of her: they were an Uzumaki Counter Squad.

See, way back when the Uzumaki still lived and prospered, they were _powerful_. A kunoichi of Uzu's ranks was infallible when it came to Sealing techniques. And despite their simple appearance, these techniques were capable of doing great, and terrifying things.

The land of Whirlpools remained peaceful. They honed their abilities in an isolated manner, carefully probing the lands with scouts, and slowly reaching out and teaching their craft to those they deemed loyal, and worthy.

And many hated this.

The old alliance of Grass, Rain, Stone, and River had formed over the fear of the Uzumaki. With their blood-driven and blood-given ingenuity and gifts, the Uzumaki clan had made many jealous, as well.

Whereas the Namikaze were wiped out in one fell swoop, killing many along with themselves, the Uzumaki were worn down over years.

Kushina grew up in the fighting, and many unknown redheaded survivors we born during those times.

Of the groups to assault Whirlpool, none raised more concern to the Uzumaki than the Counter Squads. Squads specifically plucked and chosen from the Alliance's ninja, designed to counter the effects of an Uzumaki's sealing techniques.

Where a redhead would make weapons appear from nothing, these squads would strip past their defence and destroy their scrolls, or prematurely release explosive tags.

One by one, the Uzumaki fell, leaving only remnants like Kushina, to carry the clan's history forward.

Luckily, she'd adapted her techniques. She'd learnt from the Nine Tail's previous Jinchuuriki the history of her clan, and of how her clan fell.

No explosives, no sealed weapons.

Her chains weren't quite effective either, as this squad had some dispelling techniques for them up their sleeves, as well.

"You guys are making this harder than it has to be." Kushina boasted, calmly, still dodging what projectiles the remaining kunoichi slung her way.

"Shut it, Uzumaki! When we bring your scalp back to our le-" The rogue ninja was silenced as an ornate kunai became lodged in her throat.

Like a red blur, Kushina charged forward to the remaining Counter kunoichi, and grabbed her by the throat. A dangerous glint was in the Konoha kunoichi's eyes.

"It's unusual for a squad like this to be so close to home… Tell me – where are they?" She asked.

The bandit in her hands writhed and struggled against Kushina's deathly grip.

"I-I have no-CACK!-idea… who yer talkin' about!" The woman cursed out, through her slowly caving windpipe. Kushina threw the woman down, and gave her a sharp kick in the ribs.

"Don't lie to me, honey. I can make you hurt much worse than this, you know." The redhead challenged, withdrawing another kunai from a pouch on her person.

"I-I-I ain't lyin', I swear!" The bandit continued, biding her time at least until that other redhead bitch died of her wounds.

The tiniest of sadistic smiles adorned her face. All she had to do was keep this bitch talking, and another squad could move in to secure her kill!

'_Doesn't matter if I die… As long as we rid this world of more of these Uzu scum…'_

Kushina held a passive, unmoving expression.

Then she saw the rogue kunoichi grin.

Quickly, she drove her kunai in to the kunoichi's thigh, before slowly twisting it around, and around. Despite the weakened ninja's screams of protest, Kushina continued, until it looked her victim was about to break.

"PLEASE! STOP!"

"Where are they?" She asked, calmly.

"OVER WEST, UNDER THAT-CRAG!" The woman screamed, pointing a finger over to the west. Kushina's eyes followed it, and marked her target. Wordlessly, she ended the last of the Counter Squad's life, and marked the site of their death.

They fought well, despite the cheap tricks.

She shook her head, and pressed forward, first jogging, then sprinting, burning energy for the sake of helping another. Her lungs quietly asked for a moment of reprieve, quickly being shot down by the Uzumaki's heart. She'd been fighting for hours, and still went on, determined to find her relative.

Kushina stopped when she stood in front of the massive cliff, and saw a small cave, etched into the side of it.

"Hello?" She called out, moving closer and closer to the overshadowed entrance.

"He… Here…" A tiny voice whimpered.

It was a girls, a young one, at that. The Red Death scrambled into the cave's mouth, and brought out a small light.

"Here…" There was hope, in the voice. A reasonable part of the redhead woman screamed "this is clearly a trap", but another part of her quelled that complaint, too. Kushina shone her flashlight in the direction of the voice, and almost wept.

Lying in front of her was a nearly-dead Uzumaki girl, a year or two older than her own son. Her lips were cracked and dried out, and her skin was sickly pale. Atop her head was shoulder length, beautiful red hair, marred with her own blood. On her stomach was a bandage, that had failed to mend a slowly bleeding wound.

In a swift motion, Kushina was at the girl's side, cradling her in her arms, offering her a drink from her canteen.

"M-m…" She was swiftly silenced by the cool water, greedily gulping it down. As soon as she'd received her mouthful of water, she coughed, and breathed, harshly.

"Th-thank-"

"Shh! Don't speak, sweetie. Just… Just breath, okay? Breath for me… Keep it steady… Good! Now, bite down." Kushina guided the young girl, presenting her wrist so that her fellow Uzumaki might've consumed her chakra.

The girl in her arms did, and siphoned Kushina's chakra, slowly. She faltered, minutes in, and Kushina's heart sank.

"No-no-no! COME ON!" She presented her wrist to the girl again, and she could see the tears forming in her eyes.

"M-m… Mom? I-I… found… you…" The girl asked, fear evident in her gaze. Kushina was stuck in horror, looking feebly as life left the Uzumaki girl in her arms. As the redhead woman softly pressed her hand against the girl's wound, she realised there was little she could do to save her.

"I-It's me, sweetie… It's your mother…" Tears ran freely from the Habanero's eyes as she comforted the girl.

"Wh-… What's your name, honey?" Kushina asked.

"Ho… It's… Honoka, mom…" The girl answered incredulously.

The redhead woman nodded and smiled to her, through bitter, bitter tears.

"Honoka" rang a bell. She'd overheard an expecting mother in Whirlpool sampling the "perfect" baby name. She would've given birth and had her daughter smuggled out of the country when she was very little.

Honoka probably didn't know what her mother looked like, fully. The older look, red hair, and motherly overture, not to mention the blood loss the poor girl had suffered had probably given Kushina that guise.

"Of course… I… Sleep tight, my little angel… Mom loves you…" Kushina said, kissing the girl on her forehead.

"I-l… Love you, m-mo... m…" And her failure was ingrained in her heart. As the last vestiges of life left the girl in Kushina's arms, she wept.

After some hours, she gave the girl a proper burial, marking her site with an insignia of Whirlpool that she'd ripped off from her flak vest.

If she couldn't bury the girl in her homeland, then Kushina would give her grave site a piece of the homeland.

Kushina then sealed the grave, to keep any robbers and carrion away.

She wasn't evil, and Honoka definitely didn't deserve the death she received.

She was a little girl, scared out of her mind. She carried with her a photo album, dotted and dated with the family tree of the Uzumaki families, and all relevant photos.

In her final days, it appeared that she was searching for family, documenting when she found battle or burial sites for her clan.

As Kushina stared on at the family of hers in that little album, she clenched her free fist so tight that it drew blood – nails digging into skin.

"I am going to find whoever sent that damn squad… And I'm going to find your mom, Honoka…" Kushina promised, holding her hand to her heart.

After her service, Kushina pulled out an emergency Targeting Seal for the Flying Thunder God technique, and ingrained it with the seal on the girl's grave.

When she found Honoka's mother… She'd make sure they'd be together, even in death. For now, both physically, and emotionally she felt exhausted. She only wanted the presence of another person with her now.

Her rock, Minato.

(Some days later, back in Konoha…)

Minato smiled as he finally entered Konoha, after what felt like weeks. The impromptu trip with his son had…

He felt tired, mind, body, and spirit.

He wanted nothing more to see his rock, Kushina. To hold her in his arms again, smell her hair, and rock them both to sleep.

He was sure his son felt something similar, and chuckled to himself as he caught sight of the blonde goofball getting caught up with Shikamaru. He knew of her feelings towards his boy.

It was Namikaze intuition! Never mind the fact that after Hinata had staked her claim in Naruto, the entire Ninja Clan Head Cohort was in chaos. Hiashi smugly sipped her tea whilst Kira's mother, Tsume, and Chouji's mother, Chouza, valiantly argued against the Hyuuga clan head's daughter's brashness.

Never mind the fact that on several occasions, Shikaku had tried to bargain with Minato on Naruto's hand to Shikamaru's in marriage.

It was Namikaze intuition!

Man, those were fun days. Minato loved his son, and it disturbed him greatly to see the lives of so many elders intertwined with his son's. There was care for your daughter, and there was wanting to alleviate their disappointment when they didn't get what they want, but…

There were boundaries crossed. Even if they were little ones, Minato had fun threatening the Clan Heads under him with an utmost diabolical tone.

"My son is not a prize", "my son is with who he chooses to be with", "don't kid yourselves", "I will cut the tits off the next chick who makes a pass at him" were fun little acting practices for the usually bored-out-of-his-brilliant-mind Hokage.

Gravely serious practices, but practices nonetheless. You could hear a pin drop as Minato's mood soured in the middle of an impromptu meeting.

Man, such odd thoughts.

As Minato entered creaked his door open, he felt the warmth and presence of another in his home. A smile formed on his lips, and he shed his gear, leaving it at his front door.

He'd pick it up tomorrow.

He moved passed the foyer of the house, and halted as he heard crying, coming from his living room. He saw Kushina, on their couch, sitting up with her family album in her hands.

"M… Min-min?" Kushina called out.

"I'm here, baby. What's wrong?"

"I'm… Jus… C'mere, please?"

And so he did. The two wrapped their arms around one another, talked, cried, and laughed, falling asleep in each other's embrace.

And to the loving husband and wife, things seemed alright again.

They were found by Kazumi, casually letting herself into the Uzumaki / Namikaze residence.

"Are they coming in today?" Iruka whispered from behind the Jounin. Kazumi opened her mouth to answer back, umming and erring.

"They-… Nah. Take Kushina off the day's roster, as well." Kazumi answered, closing the door behind herself as she and Iruka left the grounds.

* * *

A/N: CUT MY CUT INTO CUT, THIS IS MY CUT RECUT

CUTFUCKATION, NO CUTTING, DON'T GIVE A CUT IF I COME WHILE YOU'RE CUTTING

Love you all, and thanks for the continued support,

Sightronix.


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